Tropical Banana Cake

Return of the Lounging Bananas

“Kate was in no hurry. She thought to the end very quickly and then put it out of her mind. She let herself work on the method. She built a structure and attacked it, and if it showed the slightest shakiness she tore it down and started fresh.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

The ripe bananas have returned. My fruit bowl has become a tropical retreat. Mangos and oranges lounge seductively atop a pile of sultry ripe bananas. Their presence needed only a nudge from coconut and ginger to become Tropical Banana Cake. Sweet bananas on a tropical vacation end up lounging with their new friends, ginger, mango and coconut. Ginger sparkles dropping hints of tropical warmth. Tantalizing mango blushes with sweet buttery spice while coconut sways in the balmy breeze. A tropical escape baked in a cake.

Purchasing those big bags of bananas at Costco is so irresistible. We buy more bananas than we can eat at a price that is impossible to resist. I have made muffins and bread. It was time to make dessert. This cake started out as a tropical version of Banana Bread and evolved into a rustic cake after I was inspired by Ina Garten’s Old-Fashioned Banana Cake.

Essentials

During my banana cake testing I discovered a heady organic coconut extract with a lush tropical smell and taste that whispers summer sunshine. If you like coconut and can find the extract I recommend adding it to your pantry. Adding the coconut extract to the cake recipe results in a more pronounced coconut flavor, but is not essential to the recipe.

Dice the fresh and dried mango into small pieces as it will be easier to distribute evenly in the cake batter and to cut the finished cake into slices. Adding both fresh and dried mango are the essence of this cake and worth every minute spent chopping and dicing. The cake can be baked in a loaf pan or made into cupcakes. If the frosting is too much of a good thing it may be omitted. The cake is terrific without adornment.

	Cake Ingredients
1C	diced fresh mango(2)
1T	brown sugar
11/2C	unsweetened, dried, flaked coconut
1C	banana chips
21/2C	all purpose flour	1t	baking powder
1t	baking soda
1/2t	salt	1/4t	ground ginger
1/4t	cardamom
3	ripe bananas, rich yellow in color with brown spots	1/2C	brown sugar
1/2C	sugar
3	eggs
1/2C	butter, melted and cooled
1/2C	coconut milk (not low fat)
1T	orange zest
1t	vanilla
1t	coconut extract (optional)
1/4C	candied ginger, very finely chopped		Cake Frosting
1/2C	butter, room temperature
1/2C	cream cheese, room temperature
1t	vanilla
1t	coconut extract (optional)
31/2C	powdered sugar
3T	coconut milk (not low fat)
5	banana chips

1. Heat oven 425° to roast the fresh mango. On a parchment lined sheet pan toss the diced mango with the brown sugar and then spread the mango in a single layer. Roast for 10-15 minutes just until the mango is soft when pierced and the sugar is just starting to caramelize. Cool before adding to the cake batter.
2. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°. Spread the coconut across a parchment lined sheet pan. Toast for 3–5 minutes, until the coconut turns a golden brown. Watch the coconut closely as it will turn from toasted to burnt very quickly. Cool before adding to the cake batter.
3. Leave the oven on at 350°. Grease 3-5″ (or 2-8″) cake pans. Cut a parchment circle to fit in the bottom of the cake pans, fit inside the pans and grease again. Flour only the bottom of the cake pans, trying not to cover the sides of the pans with too much flour. Arrange banana chips vertically around the inner edge of each cake pan.
4. Into a medium size mixing bowl sift or shake through a large sieve flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices, set aside.
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the bananas until no large lumps remain. Mix in both sugars. Add the eggs one at a time, fully incorporating each into the batter. Add the butter, coconut milk, orange zest and extracts, mix to combine. Fold in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Do not over mix. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and fold in both dried and roasted mango, ginger and one cup of the coconut. (Reserve 1/2C coconut to decorate the frosted cake.) Take care to distribute the mango, ginger and coconut evenly throughout the batter.
6. Pour the batter into the center of the prepared cake pans. Evenly distribute the batter between the pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes. When done, a cake tester will come out clean and the cake will have pulled away from the sides of the pan and be a tawny golden brown. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Release the cake from the pans, by running a kitchen knife around the edge of the pan. Then invert the cakes onto a cooling rack finish cooling. Cool completely before frosting.
7. While the cake cools prepare the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter and cream cheese together. There should be no visible lumps. Mix in the extracts and then the powdered sugar. Add coconut milk one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved.
8. Place one cake on a cake stand or a serving plate and frost just the top of the cake with a generous amount of frosting. Place the second cake on top of the frosted cake and gently press down on the bottom layer. Frost just the top of the second cake. Decorate the top with banana chips and coconut.