I love bananas. My husband Tony loves them too. We add banana slices to our cereal, eat them whole as a snack and I use them in making desserts, cakes and muffins. They are always on my shopping list. The trouble with bananas, though, is that they often ripen before we have time to use them. That’s when I make my Banana Yoghurt Cake.

Making a banana cake is a practical way to use ripe bananas, so they are not wasted. Banana Yoghurt Cake requires at least one large ripe banana. If you have more than a couple of ripe bananas, you might appreciate the following tips.

Tip 1.

Make two cakes. The Banana Yoghurt Cake freezes well, so the second cake can be stored for later use.

Tip 2.

Wrap the ripe bananas in alfoil and store them whole in the freezer. They freeze well too. Make the Banana Yoghurt Cake at another time.

As its name indicates, Banana Yoghurt Cake has two essential ingredients. The first is mashed banana. You will need 1, 1½ or 2 ripe bananas (depending on their size) to produce one cup of mashed banana.

I always buy Cavendish bananas. They are the most common variety produced and sold in Australia. They are medium-sized, thin-skinned, and creamy smooth to taste. When they are ripe, they mash easily.

Bananas are not only delicious but also full of goodness. They are high in natural carbohydrates, relatively high in fibre and have a low GI (Glycaemic Index). They are rich in essential nutrients such as potassium, vitamin B6 and folate. They contain Vitamin C and antioxidants. Bananas have been shown to have many health benefits. If you want to find out more about bananas, I highly recommend you check out this website: Australian Bananas.

A hand of Cavendish bananas. Photo source: Judith Salecich 2016.
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A hand of Cavendish bananas. Photo source: Judith Salecich 2016.

Most elderly people (and children) like bananas because they are soft, don’t require much chewing and are easy to swallow. My mother is an example. She loved banana and custard. In fact, in the last 8 years of her life when she lived with my husband and me, she would have banana and custard for dessert every night if she could. In the last year or so of her life, as the dementia took hold and she had difficulty chewing, banana and custard was one food she still enjoyed.

Banana and custard served as dessert. Photo source: Judith Salecich 2016.
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Banana and custard served as dessert. Photo source: Judith Salecich 2016.

The other essential ingredient of Banana Yoghurt Cake is yoghurt, plain yoghurt. It’s one of the superfoods. I wrote about yoghurt, and its various culinary benefits and uses, in Yoghurt Zest (August 25, 2016). The Banana Yoghurt Cake requires ¼ cup of plain yoghurt.

Banana Yoghurt Cake ingredients. Photo source: Judith Salecich 2016.
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Banana Yoghurt Cake ingredients. Photo source: Judith Salecich 2016.

Banana Yoghurt Cake is super-easy to prepare. It’s similar to my Bung-in Cake (April 14, 2016), in that you put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly. However, it is different to the Bung-in Cake in that it is bigger and takes longer to cook (50-60 minutes).

Tip 3.

The mixture for Banana Yoghurt Cake needs to be firmer than the mixture for the Bung-in Cake.

If the mixture is too runny, the banana will settle to the bottom of the cake tin during baking and the resulting cake will be soggy. That’s happened to me a couple of times. Yes, I have “flops” too!

The cake may be iced when it is cool. I like to use lemon icing. It adds “zing” and complements the sweetness of the cake.

Allow the cooked cake to cool before icing it. Photo source: Judith Salecich 2016.
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Allow the cooked cake to cool before icing it. Photo source: Judith Salecich 2016.

Tip 4.

If you do not have time to ice the cake, or you prefer a healthy option, simply dust the top of the cake with sifted icing sugar.

My Banana Yoghurt Cake recipe is an adaptation of a recipe in A Taste of New Zealand Winter by Robyn Martin.

One of my best friends, a friend since high school days and who now lives in New Zealand, gave me this book as a gift in 2006. Since then I’ve tried lots of recipes in the book, and I love it.

When my friend Lyn was in Brisbane recently, Tony and I had lunch with Lyn and her sister. I baked a Banana Yoghurt Cake to share with them because I wanted Lyn (in particular) to sample it. After all, she gave me the book and the original recipe. I asked Tony to take our photograph, with the book, as a reminder of one way we’ve kept in touch over the years (that is, by sharing recipes). I promised Lyn that I would post the recipe for Banana Yoghurt Cake on my website.

Best friends and the 2006 gift recipe book. Photo source: Tony Salecich 2016.
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Best friends and the 2006 gift recipe book. Photo source: Tony Salecich 2016.

Since I started sharing recipes on my blog, I realised I have been collecting and sharing recipes with friends and family members for years. I can’t help myself. It’s just that the methods of finding and sharing recipes have changed. Today, many of us use the internet.

Do you remember writing recipes by hand, or pasting cuttings of recipes from magazines in an exercise book?

My mother did this. I did it too, until about 20 years ago.

With the advent of computers, my daughter helped me by word-processing our favourite recipes and putting the collection in order. Over the years I’ve updated these files and added a lot more recipes. Having them documented and on file makes them easy to find and readily available to share.

Recipes or collections of recipes, and recipe books, make wonderful gifts. I love to give and to receive recipes or recipe books as gifts. I remember preparing A4 display books of my favourite recipes as Christmas gifts for friends and family members about 15 years ago. I often wonder if they still have the book and use the recipes. I know that my daughter does.

BANANA YOGHURT CAKE

Ingredients

150g soft butter or margarine
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
¼ cup plain yoghurt
2 cups Self Raising flour (1 can be wholemeal, if desired)

Method

  1. Place butter, sugar, eggs, banana, lemon rind and yoghurt in a mixing bowl.
  2. Mix on low speed until the ingredients are combined.
  3. Add sifted flour.
  4. Beat on low speed to combine, then gradually increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. (Make sure the mixture is not too runny. Add a little more flour if necessary.)
  5. Pour the mixture into a baking paper-lined round or square cake tin.
  6. Bake at 180 degrees Celcius (or 160 degrees Celcius fan-forced) for 50-60 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched.
  7. Leave in the cake tin for at least 10 minutes before turning onto a cooling rack.
  8. Ice with lemon icing or dust lightly with sifted icing sugar.
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Author

Judith Salecich

Writer, researcher, former secondary and tertiary teacher and public servant, wife, mother, grandmother, child of God, photography enthusiast, lover of life, history, food and all things creative.

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6 thoughts on “Banana Yoghurt Cake”

  1. Thank you for the recipe Judy. I have ripe bananas in the freezer waiting to be used and I have been wondering what I would make. I will certainly try your Banana and Yoghurt cake very soon. Best wishes for your birthday tomorrow.

  2. We enjoy recipes which use bananas. Your cake looks delicious Judy, but I wonder if it would be successful if I used gluten free flour.

    Birthday blessings for tomorrow.
    Warmest greetings, Marion.

    • Dear Marion. Thanks for asking about the recipe for “Banana Yoghurt Cake”. 
      Yes, I’m sure you would be able to substitute gluten-free flour for the flour in this recipe. I would definitely give it a try. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with low-carbohydrate substitutes in recipes, and they always seem to work too. 
      I hope all is well with you and Charlie. God bless, Judy.

  3. Hi Judy
    Sorry I was mistaken about the date of your birthday. I should have looked more carefully! Warmest greetings for May 14th.
    God bless you.
    Marion.

  4. Hi Judy
    Sorry I was mistaken about the date of your birthday. I should have looked more carefully! Warmest greetings for May 14th.

    God bless you.
    Marion.

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