Banana & Ginger Cake

Hey gang,

I’m back from a nostalgia fuelled trip to the UK. Going back to the place you grew up in is always fun, a bit disorientating but totally worthwhile. Cath and I went back to visit my mum & dad and it was a splendid trip, lots of great food, miraculously the weather was EPIC ☀️ every single day, and we learnt heaps from mum in her stunning garden and allotments. I filled their freezer with bakes, cakes and dinners for them and made a few treats for us all to enjoy. One of those treats was Jamaican Ginger Cake, so good - the whole fam loves this one and I remember mum buying it when we were kids as a snack.

I recall it was so moist, dark and spicy not just with the ginger but the black pepper as well. The flavour is so distinctive and uses Lyle’s Black Treacle, which still comes in these awesome tins in the UK.

Here’s a fun factoid… The iconic pic on the tin above is a dead lion with bees swarming around it, illustrating the Biblical story of Samson from the Old Testament. Specifically the scene where Samson kills a lion with his bare hands and later returns to find a swarm of bees and honey inside the carcass. Also the tin holds an official Guinness World Record for the world's oldest unchanged brand packaging introduced in 1883!

Years later I recreated the ginger cake in my cookbook ‘Lamingtons & Lemon Tart’, we also made it during lockdown for our customers at the cake shop we owned a few years back. It is always popular and it is so easy to make, so I had to make a few loaves while I was home. Dad in particular loves this one, in fact he loves anything with ginger in it a bit like me, and it seems most of the UK. The baking section of supermarkets are filled with ginger ingredients, candied, stem in syrup, powders and much more means the UK’s love affair with ginger is as strong as ever.

So when I returned this week I wanted to pop the recipe for the cake up on Studio Kitchen, we have detailed the steps in images to make it easier and if you’d like to view it you can have a look here Jamaican Ginger Cake, while you are there don’t forget to subscribe (click banner below) for lots more FREE recipes and inspo.

Anyway back to this week’s recipe, I wondered what a mash up of the ginger cake and banana would be like so here it is. While making the cake I decided to enliven it a bit with banana, the inclusions were fresh banana chunks in the ginger cake loaf and a topping of banana cream cheese frosting. Yum!

The Recipe…

Serves 8

We’ve taken our deep, dark Jamaican Ginger Cake and given it a serious Studio Kitchen upgrade. By folding through chopped bananas, we’ve added an extra layer of caramel-like sweetness and an even fudgier texture to that spicy treacle crumb.

To top it off, we’ve paired it with a lush banana cream cheese frosting. The tang of the cream cheese combined with the mellow fruitiness of the banana creates the ultimate balance for those bold ginger and cinnamon notes. It’s spicy, it’s fruity, and it is incredibly moreish. Whether you’re serving this for afternoon tea or as a decadent dessert, this twist is one we know you’re going to love.

Cake Batter

140 g unsalted butter

140 g soft light brown sugar, room temperature

140 g black treacle

1 orange zest

1 lemon zest

110 g eggs, lightly beaten
210 g plain all-purpose flour

5 g black pepper, freshly ground

pinch salt

20 g ground ginger

5 g ground cinnamon

5 g bicarbonate soda

170 g milk, whole fat

130 g banana flesh, chopped

Banana Cream Cheese Frosting

85 g cream cheese, room temperature

60 g unsalted butter, room temperature

60 g banana, mashed ripe

½ tsp lemon juice

225 g icing sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla extract

Finish

1 ripe banana, sliced

candied orange zest or freshly grated orange zest