Kerlern Ong’s Homemade Banana Cake

Regular readers and twitter followers will know that I am a university lecturer by day and hobby blogger by night (or weekend!). One lovely aspect of my work is that I get to share my interest in food with the many brilliant students I meet. Because many come from Commonwealth countries, we also find that our food chats are truly global and international. 

This blog post is a guest post by Kerlern Ong, one of my students from Malaysia. She has been kind enough to share one of her recipes with me and my readers, for which I am very grateful. Kerlern was my student in 2009, where I taught her civil litigation and drafting. Yes, poor girl, those subjects really are as "interesting" as they sound! 

Kerlern passed the course with flying colours, since she was always hard working and has great natural intelligence. After being called to the Bar and becoming a Barrister of England and Wales, she went back to Malaysia to practice law. Kerlern deals with more than one area of law, but specialises most in conveyancing. It suits her as she can be both a Barrister and a Solicitor, without having to select a particular path. 

Given that the recipe she is sharing with us is for her homemade banana cake, it will come as no surprise that she is a keen baker in her spare time. Kerlern loves baking cakes and often posts droolworthy pictures of her handiwork online. Kerlern also enjoys prawn fishing in her spare time. 

Kerlern is a modest, lovely young woman. So much so, she didn't want me to use a picture of her for this blog post. In lieu, she has provided a picture of one of her much beloved cats, Gingy. Gingy as you can see is an exceedingly handsome and dapper cat. He lives with Gizmo where they argue over cat food and who gets the most petting from Kerlern.

Kerlern is on instagram, you can follow her by looking for: kerlern. Warning; Kerlern's Instagram feed may contain lots of cute cat pictures. Management accept no responsibility for hours of work time spent (wasted) poring over pictures or Gingy or Gizmo. 

Thanks very much for sharing, Kerlern!
  Kerlern Ong’s Homemade Banana Cake

Ingredients:

195g All purpose flour
1/2tsp Baking powder  
1/2tsp Baking soda  
1/4tsp Salt 
130g Unsalted butter  
130g Granulated sugar  
1 Egg  
1tsp Vanilla extract  
190g Mashed banana  
85g Whipping cream  
1tsp Lemon juice  
2 Bananas for topping
Demerara sugar, for sprinkling on top of the cake

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Line 20cm x 20cm pan with baking paper.

Sift flour, baking powder and baking soda together.

Mix the whipping cream and lemon juice together.

Beat the butter and salt until soft, add the granulated sugar then beat until light in colour, add the vanilla, beat until combine.

Add the egg, beat until combine, add the mashed banana, beat until combined. 

Pour 1/3 of the sifted flour into the bowl, fold to combine, pour half of the whipping cream mixture into the bowl, fold to combine, repeat with the rest of the flour and the whipping cream mixture (end with flour).

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, cut the banana into small rings, and place on top of the cake.

Sprinkle with or Demerara sugar.

Put into the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Remove from the oven and leave on a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy.