Baking Banana Cake

Our answer

Nigella's Chocolate-Topped Banana Cake is a good way to use up overripe bananas, if you want something slightly different to banana bread as it is slightly lighter and more spongy in texture. The recipe uses plain (all-purpose) flour. The 00 type of flour is usually used for making pasta and pizza and is more finely ground than regular flour. The fine grind can affect the liquid absorbtion slightly, but 00 flour can, and often is, used in cakes so we do not think this is the reason.

The cake could be under-baked for a variety of resons but it could be that a slightly too large a quantity of banana was used. The recipe uses 3 medium bananas and although it can cope with a slight variation in the quantity, we would use approximately 350g bananas (skin-on weight) as a guideline. Also all ovens vary and so baking times are approximate, plus if the cake tin is very deep the cake can take longer to bake as the higher sides shield the centre of the cake from the heat of the oven. We would suggest using a cake tester inserted into the centre of the cake to check that it is baked. It should come out clean, or just with one or two damp crumbs clinging to it and not uncooked cake batter. The cake should also feel firm on top and be shrinking slightly away from the edges of the tin. If the top of the cake is brown but the centre is not quite cooked, you can cover the top of the tin loosely with foil, to prevent the top from burning, and let the cake bake for an extra 5-10 minutes.