Banana Cake

For two months since April, we lived without a microwave and a refrigerator (broken except the freezer). It meant that whatever I cook, we had to eat everything lest it will go to waste. I wasn`t in a hurry to buy since it was spring and the weather is still cool enough to preserve food for at most two days. Besides, it would mean that I have to prepare my Japanese prowess again to arrange for their disposal which, by the way, would take about 10 000 yen (~5 000 PhP) for both machines. Buying wouldn’t be practical too as we only have less than a year left here in Shizuoka. So I waited and it brought good things!

More than two weeks ago, I got a very nice, big, pre-loved Toshiba Microwave Oven, from Kate`s friend, Ina, who is leaving Japan and a student in our lab went back to China and I volunteered to inherit her refrigerator, yatta!

I was very excited during that week and had already researched on the goodies that I will make. Easy to make and "idiot-proof" goodies, that is. Banana cake marks my first venture to the world of baking cakes.

I dunno if there is a universal recipe for banana cake. I checked out other recipes on the net and it seems that the difference is only in terms of proportions of the ingredients and well whatever the cook would fancy to add. For my first cake however, I got the recipe from my friend in Hamamatsu, Ate Lou Kato.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 Bananas (mashed)
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup margarine
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• vanilla essence

Directions:

Mix the sugar and margarine. Add the eggs. Stir or beat well. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add all the ingredients together with the mashed banana. Mix well. Stir in the vanilla essence. Bake at 170degrees Celsius for 35-40 minutes.

My take on it:

I did everything her recipe indicated, except that at the time, I couldn`t find baking soda at the store. So I omitted it and doubled the baking powder instead.

Because there was no baking soda, the color is lighter. It is also more compact than we were used to eating but I loved it. And so did Rad and some friends at the lab apparently because, it was gone in a flash. I guess, I just discovered that feeling that they say you get when you bake your first cake!

Then high with my success, I went ahead and baked another one the following day. This time, I put some almonds and chocolate chips. I threw caution to the wind and went ahead with another experiment. I divided the batter into two. The other batter, I mixed with 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa. I poured the white batter first then the one with cocoa and topped it with the rest of the white batter. I really wanted to duplicate what Connie at HomeCooking Rocks did but the batter was more viscous.

And so, Mangantayon!