I wonder why it is said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. The easiest way to make me happy is to gift me some great food! Isn’t it for most Indians?

Even better if I get the recipe along with the dish 😀

When a friend came over for an advanced Reiki class, he decided to bake a banana cake for me. And the moment I bit into it, I knew that it was made from atta – whole wheat flour, and not refined flour. I wanted the recipe immediately. He had it by-heart!

The most important thing to remember when baking anything with bananas is, the riper the better. It is ok if the banana looks as if it should be thrown away. All those bananas which you think need to go into the bin? Use them here.

This cake is so, so moist, it is amazing. It is also very easy to put together – do not use a blender as it will cause over-mixing and cracking on the surface. Just gently blend with a spatula.

Makes a 10″ cake

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour/ atta
1 cup brown sugar (or ½ white and ½ demerara sugar)
½ cup oil
¼ cup dry fruits and nuts (he used walnuts and cranberries)
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
4 cups mashed banana
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F.

Sieve together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt 3-4 times.

Mix oil and sugar together, using a spatula.

Add banana puree and mix for 2-3 minutes.

Now add the dry fruits, nuts, vanilla essence, stir 2 min and let it sit for 2 minutes.

Slowly stir the flour in, in 3-4 parts. If the batter seems dry, add a bit more oil.

Pour into a 10″ cake tin and bake for 30-40 min until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.