Chefs' Recipes

Banana cake with molasses-sugar and sesame

Sometimes, it just take a little baking to make the world seem a bit lighter.

By Dan Lepard
Molasses sugar and sesame banana cake
Makes 1 large loaf cake.

Ingredients

  • 250 gm banana flesh (about 4 bananas)
  • 200 gm unrefined molasses sugar or dark muscovado
  • Juice ½ small lemon
  • 75 gm hulled tahini
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 125 gm unsalted butter, softened, chopped
  • 1 tsp ground sumac, or grated rind of a lemon
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground allspice
  • 2 eggs
  • 200 gm walnut halves
  • 250 gm (1 ⅔ cups) spelt or wholemeal flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • To finish: sesame seeds and unrefined demerara sugar

Method

Main
  • 1
    Line a large deep loaf tin with non-stick paper and heat the oven to 180C.
  • 2
    Mash the banana with the sugar until smooth, then stir in the lemon juice. Add the tahini, honey and soft unsalted butter and beat well until smooth and the butter is mixed through.
  • 3
    Add the spices, beat in the eggs well, then stir in the walnut halves. Add the flour and baking powder and stir together until well combined.
  • 4
    Spoon the mixture into the tin, sprinkle with sesame seeds and demerara sugar and bake for 70-80 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
  • 5
    Cool in the tin, wrap well and, ideally, serve and slice the following day to even out the texture.