dulcis in fundo

Although I never was a big fan of bananas as a fruit on its own, there's something about the combination of banana and cinnamon that just says "yuuummmm..." to me. My partner also loves banana bread and banana cake, so much that if I ever ask him "I'll make cake, what kind do you want?" the only thing he will say is "banaaaaaaaaaana cake". I've tried many recipes in the past, both my own inventions and other people's with varying levels of success. Usually it either doesn't taste enough like banana, or stops being moist after a couple of days, or becomes really stodgy and not so light (depending on the density of the banana pulp and the amount used).

From previous posts you will have noticed my recent obsession with Harry Eastwood's Red Velvet Chocolate Heartache, and this is one more recipe from this inventive book, this time using courgette as the vegetable of choice. The cake came out great, very light and fluffy, and of course (as with all the other vegetable-based cakes in the book) it didn't taste at all like courgette! And it also stayed moist for quite a while (although it disappeared so quickly I can't really say how long it would have potentially stayed moist for...).

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Brush the inside of a 19cm x 12cm x 8 cm loaf tin with a little vegetable oil or butter.

Mash the banana thoroughly with a fork or potato masher.

In a large mixing bowl whisk the eggs and sugar for a full 3 minutes until pale and light. Whisk in the mashed-up banana until completely incorporated and then add the grated courgette and beat again. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla extract, cinnamon and mixed spice, and whisk again until completely blended.

Finally, mix in most of the brazil nuts and pecans with a spatula and pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Sprinkle the remaining nuts over the top and bake in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool in the tin for 10 minutes.