Today we attempted to bake from scratch. It was a challenging task for Tessa and I, being amateur bakers and without a proper electric oven.
We followed the recipe and instructions very carefully. Weighing each ingredient carefully on our brand new digital weighing scale.
This is the recipe.
Ingredients:
Chocolate Banana Cake:
2 cups (400 grams) granulated white sugar
1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (75 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (regular or Dutch-processed)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium sized bananas)
1 cup (240 ml) warm water
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
1/2 cup (120 ml) corn, safflower or canola oil (or other flavorless oil)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Chocolate Ganache Frosting:
8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon (14 grams) unsalted butter
Instructions:
Chocolate Banana Cake:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) pan. Set aside.
2) In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3) In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, mashed bananas, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract.
4) Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk, until combined. You will notice that the batter is quite thin. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
5) Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cooled, frost with the Ganache.
Ganache:
1) Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel, or heatproof bowl. Set aside.
2) Heat the cream and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat (can also be heated in the microwave). Bring just to a boil.
3) Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth.
4) When Ganache has completely cooled, beat until soft and fluffy (I use a wire whisk). Then spread the frosting on top of the cake.
We made a 6" cake and still have batter left for 5 cupcakes.
Mom and Tessa each ate a cupcake. Mom said no banana taste and cake is quite tasteless. Tessa initially insisted that the cake is yummy. After half way through her cupcake, she had to agree that there's not much taste.
Problems:
1) I thought there is too much sugar in the recipe so I cut down slightly. Cake turn out not sweet enough.
2) Our baking tin is a lot smaller so I tried to fill it up as much as I can. Not enough space in our airfryer for the cake to rise. So top is burnt, ugly and out of shape.
3) Our bananas are overly ripe, become quite wet when mashed. The bananas are not fragrant enough; lack taste.
Lessons learnt:
1) Never try to act smart and change the recipe
2) Buy an oven. A Sona brand 28 litre one is now at a promotional price of $69.90. Will make a worthwhile investment I think.
3) Also invest in a hand mixer. I think I don't necessarily need all that arm exercise.
4) TV should not be turned on (all because of Dylan). The little baker get too distracted.
But I think it's still not too bad an attempt, considering we did everything from scratch.
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