The Secret Life of Bees and Some Cake Too!

 

We at Cook the Books Club are currently reading The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, hosted this round by Debra of Eliot's Eats.  This is a novel I had totally missed out on, though it's been around for over 20 years now. Quite an original and fascinating tale. I especially loved the account of 14 year old Lily springing her nanny from the hospital lockdown, after she was beaten up for daring to attempt voting!  

More Bananas, Banana Almond Cake

Well, I just discovered that the ground, toasted almonds in my recently made Banana Almond Cake are on the list of trendy foods.  Haven't decided how that changes anything exactly, but hey, guess I'm just so with it.  I was looking for more ways to use up all our bananas.  Did the Passionfruit-Banana Sorbet, dried bananas, Banana Waffles, even sliced one into my Ahi Coconut Curry, a dish I've been making (with variations) a lot lately.  Then discovered this fantastic cake via Jules at thestonesoup blog.  Posted several years ago.  Back when toasted almonds weren't trendy.  She was ahead of her time.

This so beats Banana Bread.  It's in a whole other league, folks.  There's no flour, so it's gluten free, and the cake is light, yet moist from the fruit and ground nuts.  Toasted ground almonds smell so wonderful - they're in the running with fresh ground coffee, grated nutmeg,  and even, yes, chocolate melting. I want to roast and grind some more, just for the aroma, the flavor of which comes through in this cake.  And, as more bananas are on their way......

I used my Sumeet Asia Kitchen Machine, which was mentioned previously in the context of grinding cacao to make truffles.  It whirs them into submission very quickly. And, after the almonds are removed, just dump the bananas in and give them a whir.  So, here's my version of a now trendy cake. 

 

Banana Almond Cake

1 3/4 cups (250 grams) raw almonds, toasted

2 eggs

1/2 cup (110 grams) white sugar

1/2 teas. baking powder

1 3/4 cups (250 grams) bananas, peeled & mashed well

juice of 1/2 lemon

2 teas. lemon zest

2 teas. vanilla extract

1/2 cup sliced almonds

confectioners sugar to dust top before serving

Preheat oven to 300 F ( 150 C).  Butter a 9" (22cm) fluted flan tin with removable base.  Jules recommends taking a large square of baking paper, moistening it, then lining the base and sides of the tin with it.  I only put parchment paper on the bottom, which was a mistake. The cake stuck to the sides, messing with the nice fluted business.  Even with moistening the paper, it seemed there would be big creases around the sides, but next time (and there will be a next time) I'll do it anyway.

Process the whole, toasted almonds until finely ground.  Beat eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Stir the almonds and baking powder well together, then gently add to the eggs.  Puree bananas with lemon juice and stir into the almond mixture with lemon zest and vanilla.  Mix to incorporate, without over doing it, so as not to deflate the eggs.

Pour into your prepared pan, then sprinkle the sliced almonds evenly over the surface.  Bake 40-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Let it cool in the pan on a rack.

Carefully remove from the tin to a serving plate and sift confectioners sugar over the top.  Serve with whipped cream, or whole milk yogurt if desired.  Very much in the Italian tradition of cakes made with seasonal fruits and ground nuts, great for an afternoon snack, along with a glass of vin santo or iced coffee.