banana and coffee loaf

I have three confessions to make:

1. I hate coffee.

2. This is the first time I've baked using a flavour I dislike.

3. I underbaked the cake. Waaaaaah!!! :(

This cake had so much potential, I'm gutted it didn't work out. It rose well, felt firm to touch and the skewer inserted into the centre came out clean so I thought the cake was full cooked, but clearly it wasn't. It's so sad witnessing a cake deflate.

I am definitely at fault though, not the recipe, as I had enough batter left over from the loaf to bake a jumbo muffin and it turned out beautifully. It was well risen, had a lovely soft crumb and even I, the coffee hater, thought it tasted pretty good. Did I think to photograph the muffin? Erm... no.

The sweetness from the banana and honey balanced the bitterness which I dislike in coffee. I didn't think the banana loaf was spoiled by the addition of coffee, whereas I do think a mocha is a ruined hot chocolate!

My Mum, who I made the cake for, loved the flavour. She's been subtly suggesting banana and coffee as a cake flavour combination for ages so was delighted that I finally made it, even though it was a bit of a flop. She especially loved the fudgy coffee icing. It's like the fudgy chocolate icing my Granny used to make, but the cocoa powder is replaced with coffee granules.

Mum and I discovered that the soggy cake could (sort of) be rescued by cooking slices of it in the microwave for a couple of minutes. The icing turns into a sticky sauce which seeps into the cake, making it more like a pudding. A sticky coffee pudding!

I'll definitely try this recipe again, but will pay more attention to the baking times. I was (finally!) watching the last film in the Twilight franchise whilst baking this cake, so I'm blaming my poor results on the dismal acting. On the upside, Michael Sheen is fantastic so it's worth watching for him alone. I almost wet myself laughing at his reaction to the half human half vampire child. Comedy gold: https://youtu.be/i7kT0qiv78s

Coffee and banana loaf

Recipe slightly adapted from Laura's mini bundt recipe at I'd Much Rather Bake Than... 

cake:

9 tbsp (135ml) sunflower oil
100g runny honey
75g light brown muscovado sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 tbsp (90ml) milk mixed with 3 heaped tsp coffee granules
3 large eggs
3 bananas, mashed
330g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder

coffee icing (this makes quite a lot so you could reduce quantities):
75g butter
3 heaped dessert spoonfuls of milk mixed with 3 heaped tsp coffee granules
350g icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/Gas 4 and grease and line a 900g/2lb loaf tin. Put the oil, honey, sugar, vanilla, milky coffee, eggs and banana in a large bowl. Sift in the flour and baking powder and mix for about a minute until everything is well combined. Pour the mixture in the tin until about 2/3 full. The mixture will be quite runny and there will be enough left over batter for a big muffin or a few cupcakes (just remember they will only take about 20-30 minutes to bake as they're smaller.)

Bake the loaf in the centre of the oven for at least an hour (don't take it out at 50-55 minutes like me!!) until well risen, firm to touch and a skewer inserted into the centre of the oven comes out clean. Don't watch Twilight whilst baking. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

For the icing, melt the butter with the coffee milk in the microwave (or in a pan on the hob.) Add the icing sugar and mix together until smooth, cool and thickened. Pour over the cake and leave to set.