Papuan Banana Cake

Papuan Banana cake. So simple. And, according to my friend Manny, a very popular breakfast item in Papua New Guinea.

He explained that, because PNG is so diverse across the board, every area has a different dialect, traditions, etc. One thing that is consistent across the country is banana cake- and it can be found at any establishment. He also confessed that it was one of his favorite things, and that was enough to tell me that I should make it.

I actually didn’t go searching for a traditional recipe since my mom’s is so good, and therefore I decided to use that. The one tweak I made is that I swapped mom’s traditional walnut cream cheese frosting with a chocolate coconut sauce, which Manny said was a more traditional topper.

Chocolate for breakfast? DONE.

Frosting adapted from Baking Around the World

July 25, 2013

Servings: 9

Prep: 15 min

Cook: 35 min

Total: 50 min

Difficulty: Easy

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Papuan banana cake is a personal twist on Papua New Guinea's traditional banana cake, popular at establishments country-wide.

By: Chrissy

Ingredients

½ cup super ripe mashed bananas (about 2)
¼ cup shortening
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
¼ cup buttermilk
¾ cup flour
½ tsp baking soda
Pinch salt
¼ cup nuts (optional)
For the icing:
¾ cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup full fat coconut milk

Directions

Step 1 In a mixer bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla and banana.
Step 2 While the above is blending, combine the dry ingredients. Set aside.
Step 3 To the sugar mixture, alternate the dry ingredients with the buttermilk, starting and ending with dry until well blended. Don’t over mix.
Step 4 Add the nuts if desired.
Step 5 Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes until a tester comes out clean.
Step 6 After cooling in the pan for about 10 minutes, invert on a cooling rack until completely cool.
Step 7 make frosting:
Step 8 Place chopped chocolate in a mixing bowl.
Step 9 Heat the coconut milk in the microwave (approx. 1 1/2 minutes) or in a saucepan until boiling. (Stir intermittently to prevent scalding.)
Step 10 Pour the milk over the chocolate, ensuring the the milk completely covers the chocolate.
Step 11 Cool the chocolate mixture for 30-40 minutes. After it has cooled for about 10 minutes and looks melted, gently stir.
Step 12 Beat the mixture until smooth and spread atop cooled cake.