Carrot and Banana Loaf

*This post was supposed to go live on 7th February , then I experienced some technical difficulties* So my son turns one today!!! Anyway back to the recipe. This recipe was born out of leftover carrot cake batter that I added some mashed ripe bananas. I’ve since improved it and I’m happy to share it with you. Since the cake is rich in bananas and carrots, both sweet foods, I have tried to use very minimal sugar. It’s the same cake I’ve made for my son as a smash cake. This will be his first time eating cake . I can’t wait to see how he reacts. Edit: He wasn’t bothered with the smash cake, he lightly touched the frosting and that was it. Another awesome thing about this recipe is that it’s so easy to do and requires no special gadgets. You probably already have the ingredients in your kitchen. For the carrots try use the small side of the grater. I start my mixing the dry ingredients. The flour,baking soda, cinnamon, mixed spices and nutmeg. I love freshly grated nutmeg so that’s what I use. Whisk the dry ingredients and set aside. For the wet,start by mashing the ripe bananas with the back of a fork. Here you are the Madonna of your own banana (summoning Chef John of Food wishes) What I mean is, you can mash it as smooth or rough as you like. I usually prefer having small lumps of banana in the batter. Then add the sugar and vegetable oil. When baking with oil try getting one with little to no aroma so that it doesn’t interfere with the flavour of the cake. I usually prefer sunflower oil. Can you substitute oil for butter you ask? Yes. You can use melted unsalted butter. Now using a whisk or wooden spoon, combine.

Add the eggs and vanilla essence. Always ensure your eggs or rather all the ingredients are room temperature when baking. Whisk to combine. Fold in the flour mixture until incorporated. Do not overmix you don’t want the cake to be tough. Essentially once the flour is incorporated stop mixing. Fold in the grated carrots and dried fruit. Transfer the cake batter in a prepared loaf pan. I usually just line with some parchment paper, you can grease with some oil then dust with some flour. Bake at 180 degrees C for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted at the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the tin and cooling it further. Voila, carrot and banana loaf. The cake is wholesome thanks to the spices and pretty moist. It is also not too sweet which is perfect. Video