Banana Boston Cream Cake

Ever heard of the Hummingbird Bakery? Well, if you haven’t, then you should. I have been making their Guinness Cake for ages and it’s always a raving success. They have so many amazing and creative ideas for desserts and they have recently published their second book (which, of course, is already in my possession). It’s called Home Sweet Home and contains plenty of innovative recipes for cupcakes alongside more traditional cakes and American-inspired pies and tarts. Just delicious! This cake comes from this book, so I hope I am not breaching anyone’s copyright by posting the recipe on here. It is a banana sponge cake with a custard filling and a chocolate ganache on top. Now tell me you don’t want to eat it! The recipe involves three main steps, so I will divide ingredients and method accordingly.

 

Ingredients (for the sponge)

• 100g unsalted butter, softened
• 150g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 banana, mashed
• 125g soured cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 300g plain flour
• 1/s tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method (for the sponge)

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Grease and line two 20cm cake tins.
2. Using an electric whisk, cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl.
3. In a jug, mix together the mashed banana, soured cream and vanilla extract.
4. In a bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and bicarb.
5. With the whisk on a medium speed, pour the soured cream mixture into the creamed butter and sugar and mix well to ensure all ingredients are incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and mix until you have a smooth batter.
6. Divide the batter between the two tins and bake for 25-35 minutes. Check the cakes are cooked with a skewer. The sponges should be light and bounce back when slightly pressed.
7. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

Ingredients (for the custard)

• 250ml whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 egg yolks
• 50g caster sugar
• 15g plain flour
• 15g cornflour

Method (for the custard)

1. In a medium pan, bring the milk and vanilla extract to the boil.
2. In a bowl, mix the yolks with the sugar, flour and cornflour until it forms a paste. You can also add a small amount of the milk to loosen the mixture up.
3. Once the milk is ready, slowly pour it into the bowl with the eggy mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.
4. Pour it back in the pan and cook on a medium heat, stirring constantly, until it forms a thick custard. The process will not take more than 5 minutes. You need to keep an eye on the eggs and keep on mixing because if the heat is too high they will scramble and you will end up with a mess. If you notice the eggs start creating lumps, take the pan off the heat and whisk ferociously until the mixture is smooth again.
5. Once cooked, pour the custard in a bowl and cover with clingfilm to prevent a skin forming.

Ingredients (for the ganache)

• 300g dark chocolate
• 300ml double cream

Method (for the ganache)

1. Pour the cream in a pan set over a medium heat and bring to the boil.
2. Break the chocolate into smallish chunks into a bowl.
3. Once the cream is hot, pour over the chocolate bits and leave to rest for a good couple of minutes.
4. Mix to melt all of the chocolate.

Assembling the cake

1. Once the sponges and the custard have cooled completely, start assembling the cake.
2. Place one of the sponges on your cake stand or plate and pour the custard on top of it. Spread it with a palette knife and ensure the whole surface is covered. Top with other sponge layer.
3. Wrap the cake in clingfilm and put it in the fridge to set for another 45 minutes.
4. Once that is done, take the cake out of the fridge and peel off the clingfilm.
5. Set the assembled cake on a wire rack standing on a baking tray and pour the ganache on top, ensuring the whole cake is covered. repeat the procedure if needed.
6. I personally spread the ganache with a spatula, so that is why I didn’t get a shiny effect in the end.

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