Mini Banana Cakes a la Payard

banck1

Banana cake is another one of my childhood comfort foods. I like this even more than eating bananas. In the same way I like lechon paksiw more than lechon (except that crisp lechon skin is simply heaven in epidermis). I buy lots of lakatan bananas at the market on Saturdays, and hope that at least 4 or 5 large ones get overripe by the following friday… and there is nothing else to use them for except banana cake! I have featured two recipes for banana cake before, both from cookbooks I love, and that earlier post is here. But a couple of weeks ago, I decided to make some “mini” banana cakes using these disposable foil 3 x 5 inch tins (actually, I recycle and use them several times) that turned out really well. Just use the Payard recipe I describe in the earlier banana cake post and place them in smaller tins. Reduce the cooking time a bit and bake until just done.

These cakes are perfect for a snack or dessert. I can easily eat half a mini-cake in a single sitting! I also find they are terrific for freezing or storing in the fridge. Warm them up before serving or toast them. I like that they aren’t so big that you have to keep slicing and returning them to the fridge. These are almost always wiped out when they are served. The Payard recipe uses olive oil, an unusual touch, yet it results in a flavorful and light cake. I also like the heavier local recipes that sometimes use brown sugar or add nuts and come out dense and heavy… Actually, I like most banana cakes, period. From the carinderia versions to the fancier patisserie take on it. There is something about the pungent smell of baked bananas that makes one feel good all over… Remember, you must use seriously ripe bananas. If you use them when they are just ripe, the cake won’t come out as good…

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

38 Responses

  1. Banana cake is great anytime of the day and they can be morphed into a muffin. The versatility is endless whatever your heart desire – chocolate chips can be added, nuts, coffee for an extra kick. I read your post about Onie’s mom mangosteen cake. I used the same banana cake recipe of Maida Heater. I used canola oil and added 1/4 cup of sour cream and replaced 1/4 cup of sugar to mangosteen jam no seeds involved going in the cake and 2 tablespoon instant espresso coffee dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water (replacing the buttermilk) and let come back to room temperature. I baked them in a round baking pan. While still warm I brushed the cake with syrup made out 3 tablespoon of mangosteen jam and 1/4 cup water cooked until syrupy. Left out to cool. When ready I frosted them with coffee flavored buttercream and pureed mangosteen jam with seeds in a food processor. Voila! I hit the jackpot! It was a home run! I got all the three gems – coffee, banana and mangosteen in one spot! Just a hint I used a buttercream with softball stage sugar poured into the eggwhites. If you are using the buttercream – butter and powdered sugar my suggestion is cut down on the powdered sugar as the jam will add another layer of sweetness.

  2. Also I omitted the pecan nuts from the recipe and used three well beaten eggs for a more cakey look.

  3. I love banana cake as well… thanks for sharing the recipe, i checked it out and will have to try it soon… i think this is much better with the one i’m using at the moment, i’m not comfortable with it really since it uses 1 Cup of butter. i feel that it’s too much with the proportion of the whole batter. thank you and have a nice long weekend!

  4. i love baguio country club’s banana bread.. moist and yummy!

    also red ribbon’s.. its readily available and love the “crunch” on top of the bread. :)

  5. u8mypinkcookies, i also love the baguio country club’s banana bread! I always wait for Saturdays to get hold of it. Tomorrow it will be definitely nice merienda cena at the garden with a cup of tea! Yehey!

  6. u8mypinkcookies

    i heard about how good baguio country club’s banana bread.. Super delicious daw.

    I don’t quite like red ribbon’s, too sweet and lacks banana taste. But the streusel top was good :)

  7. i couldn’t agree with you more–the smell of banana in any pastry/bread/cake is wonderful. although this is one item i’ve not tried to make ever. i have made a zucchini bread that is also great. just as moist as a banana bread. :)

  8. I once tried baking a banana cake, taste wise it was good however it was dense and lighter in color. How do you get the black specks inside the banana cake and how do you make it lighter. Thanks

  9. The smell of banana cake is priceless :-)
    My hubby who is a New Zealander remembers his mother making this with chocolate icing. You guys should try it! Yummy!

  10. Ditto about Baguio Country Club’s Banana Bread – it’s a must-have whenever we’re in the City of Pines.

    Just an observation Рwhen I got this banana bread twice from the BCC caf̩ at Tiendesitas, the quality is not as moist and flavorful. People there said those were already prepared in Manila but still the same recipe. Did the difference in climate play a crucial role here?

    MM, thanks for the Payard banana cake recipe – it will lord over my kitchen later this afternoon. I will try doubling the recipe and baking it in a Bundt fluted tube pan with chopped walnuts strewn evenly on the bottom before pouring in the batter. With its promise of exceptional quality and value for money, it might just end up on my list of holiday giveaways. Again thanks for sharing!

  11. @ms. foodie

    I answered your query just now in MM’s earlier banana cake recipe post. Kindly check and good luck on your next banana cake try for your hubby.

  12. I always make banana cake! I also put pieces of chocolate fudge to add a chocolate touch to it instead of using choco chips ahaha!

  13. Teddycapz, I agree the ones available at Tiendesitas are not as good. I also think climate makes a difference. I guess Im lucky enough that my mom makes weekly trip to the city so I have my yummy banana bread on weekends!

  14. a family favorite is sliced banana cake, toasted a bit on both sides, then served with caramel sauce and some vanilla ice cream. You should try it!

  15. Like you, I prefer banana cake to fresh bananas. In fact, while I like anything banana-flavored (ice cream, shakes, etc.), I don’t like to eat bananas at all, not even when it’s chopped or sliced and served as part of a dessert like pie or turon. I only like the taste of it, but not the texture. Isn’t that strange?

    I feel the same about carrots — can’t stand to eat them, but LOVE carrot cake!

  16. I think, for me at least, banana cake is one of the easiest to bake goodies. I use a recipe that calls for brown sugar but skip the nuts(for my family) and the best one I did was using over-overripe bananas(almost black). It’s very flavorful and moist. Love it with whipped cream and a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

  17. ooh! banana bread / banana cake / banana muffins – these are awesome yummy treats! the best recipe for me – and i’ve tried a ton – is from the sesame street children’s encyclopedia from the mid-80s…heeheehee featuring chef cookie monster…. though its probably because it tastes like my childhood =)

  18. i’m a serious banana bread lover too. I have mine warm with a bit of butter on it.

    peanutbeanma– are you serious? that it the exact same one i used to make as a kid! i’ve since lost the books and recipe, would you mind sharing it?

  19. I love banana bread too. Tried the version of Ernest Gala, but it has too much nutmeg and cinnamon for my liking. If only I can replicate the banana bread of Baguio Country Club. I like the dark, dense variety.

  20. Because of your photo, I’ll try Payard’s recipe just to check it out. Hope my cake will turn out as great as yours.

    Maria Clara: since I’m in a baking mood this weekend, I’ll also try your cake recipe, but using my own plum jam rather than mangosteen jam. I hope my experiment will hit the jackpot as yours did! Thanks for sharing your recipe.

  21. peanutbeanma:i lost my copy of chef cookie’s recipe too.pa-share nman please…For me nothing compares among the wide variety around.thanks for reminding me of that.so that’s the taste thats been haunting me for a long time now!

  22. Hi Crissy…Can you describe the Baguio Country Club Banana Bread please. Is it as dark as Demerara Brown Sugar? A friend of mine used to work at Four Season’s here in Vancouver. They made a really dark, dense Banana Bread…it so dense that they used it to make Banana French Toast. If it is the one you’re looking for, I can ask him for the recipe.But if you want to experiment with another Banana Bread recipe…this one also produces a really moist, dark banana bread with dark specs!…My 4 year old nephew won’t eat any other cake except this one…He knows his cakes as both his mother and I are in the field of desserts and pastries…let me know if this is the one that would come close to what you’re looking for: 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup dark brown sugar, 4 medium polka-dotted bananas, 2 eggs, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 3/4 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 3 tablespoons warm milk. Note: if bananas are OVER RIPE, I usually use only 3/4 cup brown sugar. Cream butter and sugar. Then add the bananas. Whip mixture until bananas are creamed as well. Then add eggs one at a time. Add rest of ingredients. Bake in greased and floured loaf pans 350 degrees until toothpick inserted comes out clean about 35- 45 minutes. If browning too fast, cover with foil.

    Maria Clara: Thanks for sharing your revisions. I will definitely try it as soon as I can get someone to send me mangosteen jam. I bought mangosteen the other day to attempt making mangosteen jam and I was sooo disappointed at the taste….BLAH! I said…those mangosteen were tasteless!

    And if anyone of you find yourselves with over ripe bananas coming out of your ears..hehehe…try making them into Banana Jam…really awesome with hot pan de sal or scones with butter!

  23. Nikka and Mia…try going to sesameworkshop.org…they have a post on Banana Bread. …don’t know if that’s the one you’re looking for ladies!…it’s very similar to the recipe I have given above…

  24. hi, pls send me recipe on how to make siopao , siomai and puto cheese and puto pao, and fruit cake too, tks

  25. I love banana cakes, especially with walnuts. Instead of buttermilk, I substitute with unsweetened creamy yoghurt and the results are great…substantial but moist, whether straight out of the ref or reheated in a toaster or microwave. I use the recipe from King Arthur Flour’s Bakers Companion. Thanks MM for sharing the Payard recipe. I will try it out this weekend.

  26. What heaven-sent post you did, MM! I have a bowl of brown-skinned bananas awaiting their fate – to be eaten/used/baked, or out in the bin. I’ve been looking for a new and inspiring, easy banana cake/bread recipe, thank you for this post, MM and fellow readers with your tips.

    I noticed that the joy of eating banana cake far outweights the eating of fresh bananas, esp. in the Phils. where one is spoiled for choice. Lacatan, latundan, saba and other varieties are in such abundance there, it is really a Banana Republic in the real sense… In Europe, the bananas we get are mostly the Dole or Del Monte kind, and there is not much taste to speak of.

  27. I love banana cake / bread over the banana fruit itself, like many of us here.. ;P I also love Marta Matute’s banana cupcakes..

  28. oh wow! i’m not the only one who has tried cookie monster’s banana bread recipe. sure i can share it – um…marketman…how? i just post it here in the comment box? or do i post my email addy?

  29. this is one of the few cakes i can proudly say i’ve mastered! my family loves my moist banana bundt cake.. i love it when it smells of banana in my kitchen.. yum!

  30. Maria Clara, I tried your variation of the mangosteen jam (from Kablon Farms) and added coffee. Unfortunately, I didn’t add enough and the effect was too subtle. Subtle but good. Enough to know it was a good combination that I should try again . =) thanks for the great idea.

  31. zena for the cake part mix the mangosteen jam with still warm coffee mixture – hot water and coffee to thin out the jam and the sour cream – yogurt is also a good substitute for sour cream. If you want more mangosteen flavor then add more jam but cut down on sugar since you will brush the still warm cake with mangosteen syrup – boil the jam again no seeds and water just boil it to mix the jam and water no need to overboil. We are using the same mangosteen jam from Kablon Farms. When I make this cake I do not use any mixer. Just big fork. I beat the eggs well with a fork set it aside. Shift all the dry ingredients together and keep in a big bowl make a well in the center, put in all the wet ingredients and start mixing in from the center in circular motion and work your way out towards the edge of the bowl. Before you throw your pan in the oven bang it three times on your countertop to get rid of air bubbles or pockets. Good luck on your next try.

  32. I just can’t resist posting. Banana cakes transport me to my childhood (although I am still quite young hehe). My lola would bake them for no apparent reason. Then again, do we need any reason for good food? I remember being fascinated by those weird black squiggles in the cake. I love banana cake!

  33. @TULIP, FAWN & Teddycapz: yeah I so love Baguio Country Club’s banana bread.. moist even if you eat it straight from the fridge! love it.. try their Sovital bread too :D

  34. hi MM. i love banana bread! :) I’ve recently tried to bake my own (cost cutting, and i realized how easy it was). Anyway, aside from streusel topping and a cinnamon-sugar topping, what other toppings can i put on my banana bread? I’ve tried one banana bread (i do not remember where) with a kind of sticky-sweet top that i can’t figure out how to make. any ideas? thanks.

BLOG CATEGORIES

MARKETMAN ON INSTAGRAM

Subscribe To Updates

No spam, only notifications about new blog posts.