← Nouns Cooking · Bakery

Ingredients

• 375 g plain flour
• 400 g granulated sugar
• 1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 300 ml vegetable oil
• 1½ tsp Vanilla extract
• 225 g tinned crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
• 4 ripe bananas (about 350 g peeled), chopped
• 100 g Pecans, toasted and chopped
• 450 g full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• 115 g unsalted butter, soft
• 400 g Icing sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 50 g pecans, toasted and chopped, to decorate

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, 350°F). Grease two 23 cm round cake tins and line the bases with baking paper.
2. Whisk the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add the eggs and oil and stir just until moistened.
3. Stir in the vanilla, crushed pineapple with its juice, bananas and pecans until evenly mixed; do not beat.
4. Divide between the tins and bake for 30–35 min, until golden and a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tins for 10 min, then on a rack until completely cold.
5. For the frosting, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth, then beat in the icing sugar and vanilla on low speed until thick and creamy. Do not overbeat or it turns runny.
6. Sandwich the layers with a third of the frosting, then cover the top and sides with the rest. Scatter over the pecans and chill for 1 hour to firm up before slicing.

Tips

• Pecans are tree nuts; the cake is still lovely without them.
• Keep the frosted cake in the fridge, but serve slices at room temperature for the softest crumb.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Once Upon a Chef King Arthur Baking