🍌 Sour Cream Banana Cake

Hello, my lovely friends!

It is almost the weekend and time for a weekly catch-up. Winter has finally arrived here in Sydney, and with it, my studio and cooking school have come alive. Today, I am sharing a delicious Banana Cake Recipe (this is not Banana Bread!), it is the kind of cake you could slather with mascarpone or cream cheese frosting, moist buttery crumb, burnished crust... everything kissed with sugared bananas, snapshots of the Cook Republic Cooking School doing what I dreamed up - bringing people together over delicious food, some new cooking class dates, a bonus recipe and all good things!

I spent a day in my studio with Class Bento’s lovely team, who were shooting content for their upcoming classes and some Christmas promotions (see Instagram Reel of the day’s shoot). I was tasked with providing staging and styling for their Sourdough, Croissant and Cupcake segments, which was a lot of fun... a few days of mixing and proving sourdough in bannetons, baking dozens and dozens of cupcakes for shoot day. I was also catering some beautiful gluten-free and dairy-free food for their team, which was loved by all. I made this gorgeous Rhubarb Strawberry & Polenta Traycake, Beetroot & Carrot Fritters with Salsa Verde, Chickpea Korma Curry and Saffron Rice and Roasted Sweet Potato & Chicken Salad.

If you are after a great space to shoot your next project or to run a class or meetup/event that involves food, my lovely studio is available for day rentals. Email me sneh.roy@cookrepublic.com

I had the Pasta & Focaccia Cooking Class last weekend, and it was so full of joy. The studio came alive with the loveliest bunch of people. We made pasta and mixed and baked nine glorious slabs of the 3hr Rosemary Focaccia that everyone took home. We sat down to a leisurely lunch filled with laughter and conversation and, of course, all the delicious food we made: Fettuccine in Vodka Cream Sauce, Green Salad with Mustard Lemon Vinaigrette, Burrata & Marinated Tomatoes with Honey & Chilli, Roasted Peppers & Thyme, Rosemary Focaccia, and Tiramisu. Wine was had, stories were swapped, it was a truly wonderful afternoon. The next Pasta & Focaccia Cooking Class is on Aug 8th (Saturday) with only a few spots left. Book Your Spot Here, bring a friend, it promises to be a fun time.

For more Aug, Sep, Oct Dates & Private Class Booking Requests - Click Here

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Recipe Of the Day

Serves 8

This is a delicious afternoon tea-cake with moist, buttermilk-ish crumb flecked with vanilla and sugared bananas. And a deep, burnished crust that is almost caramel-like in flavour. Amazing on its own or with whipped, sweetened mascarpone.

Ingredients

• 4 ripe bananas, mashed

• 20g brown sugar

• 250g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

• 250g raw caster sugar

• 4 eggs

• 200g sour cream

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• pinch of salt

• 350g (2 cups) self-raising flour

• icing sugar for dusting

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced). Line a 20cm (8-inch) round springform cake pan with baking paper.

2. Mash bananas and brown sugar in a small bowl.

3. Beat butter and caster sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat for a minute until creamy and voluminous.

4. Add sour cream, vanilla and salt. Beat briefly (30 seconds) until combined. Add flour and mix with a silicone spoon until just combined. Fold through the sugared bananas. Spoon into the prepared cake tin.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 55-60 minutes until golden brown on top and cooked through the middle.

6. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Dust with icing sugar, slice and serve warm.

I am usually always by myself for lunch (pitfalls of a sole trader working from home). And although I am surrounded by food and cooking multiple times a day, I can get quite passionate and stubborn about what I feel like eating on any given day. It doesn’t matter if I have cooked and plated a brilliant 3-Course Meal that morning. If I feel like eating something specific, I will take 30 minutes to stop and slow down to cook something leisurely from what I have on hand, something completely made up and just for me. I will then take my plate out in the front garden and enjoy my meal while looking at the canoe and soaking up some glorious sunshine. Lunch for one!

Serves 1-2

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 250g raw prawn meat, chopped

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes

• 1/4 cup white wine

• zest of 1 large lemon

• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill

• 100g dry spaghetti, cooked in salted boiling water

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1/4 cup grated parmesan

1. Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed, stainless steel frying pan on medium-high heat. Add prawns and cook for a few seconds until starting to colour. Add garlic and chilli, cook for 5-10 seconds and then add wine directly over the aromatics to prevent them from burning. Toss quickly to form a creamy white sauce.

2. Add lemon zest and half of the dill. Mix well. Add the cooked spaghetti with 2-3 tablespoons of the pasta water.

3. Check and adjust seasoning. Garnish with remaining dill and top with parmesan. Enjoy!

My Thoughts

• I use 3-ply or 4-ply stainless steel cookware (favourite brands All Clad, Ikea, Scanpan, Wolstead, Tramontina). I cooked today’s spaghetti in Ikea’s Sensuelle frying pan (it is a brilliant thickness for a fraction of the price). These heavy-bottomed stainless steel pans are what chefs use during service to cook and finish individual servings of pasta or steak. Nothing sticks to them; they conduct heat brilliantly, and the food tastes amazing as searing is just perfection.

• White wine, vermouth or any briny, acidic alcohol will work wonders in this recipe. Plus the addition of lemon is very nice. Acid and seafood go really well together.

• Always fry your spaghetti sauce base in plenty of good quality olive oil. In a tomato-paste-devoid dish, this creates a light sauce with good emulsion, rendering a creamy final sauce. When frying, add garlic and chilli later. As they start cooking off in just a few seconds, either add the alcohol or a dash of water or stock (any liquid) to prevent the garlic and chilli from burning.

• Dill is an excellent herb choice for prawns. Throw in a few capers if you have them too. Finally, for a more decadent mouthfeel, add a knob of butter to your finished dish. If I didn’t have to continue working, I would’ve certainly done that and poured myself a glass of chilled white wine to accompany.

CLASSIFIEDS

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Until next time! Eat Well, Be Well. xx

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