Coffee Banana Cardamom Cake

Prep time: about 20 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 very ripe bananas, peeled
• 4 free-range eggs, separated
• 2 tsp natural vanilla extract
• 90ml sour cream
• 360g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cardamom
• 180g butter softened
• 180g dark brown sugar
• 6 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 tbsp Classico Original Blend ground coffee, or Classico Original Blend decaffeinated ground coffee

What you’ll need:

• 25cm diameter bundt pan
• round of baking parchment
• Sift
• Electric mixer
• Whisk
• Bowl
• Tablespoon
• Teaspoon
• Scales

Step one:

Heat the oven to 160°C.  Butter a 25cm diameter bundt pan and line the bottom with a round of baking parchment.

Step two:

Mash the bananas and mix in the egg yolks, vanilla and sour cream.  Sift the flour with the baking powder, salt and spice.

Step three:

Beat the softened butter with the brown sugar until light and creamy.  Add about half the banana mixture to the creamed butter and (either by hand or on the lowest speed of a mixer) work them all together until almost combined. Then add the rest of the banana and flour mixtures, and the coffee, again being careful not to overmix.

Step four:

Put the egg whites in a large and scrupulously clean bowl and whisk until soft peaks form – that is, when you lift up some of the egg white with the whisk it forms a soft, slightly drooping peak.

Step five:

Start whisking in the rest of the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and whisking well after each addition until stiff and glossy. Gently fold this meringue into the banana mixture in two batches.

Step six:

Spoon the cake mixture into the buttered bundt pan and bake for about an hour, until a toothpick or skewer pushed into the middle of the cake comes out dry.  Let the cake cool completely before unmoulding.

NOTE: the cake can certainly be made the day before; when completely cooled, wrap it in cling film but don’t put it in the fridge because chilling is quite simply death to cakes.