Recipe: The 30-Year-Old Banana Cake (or Bread) Stephanie Alexander Swears By

When the bananas on the counter start to soften, make Stephanie Alexander’s banana bread. The classic bake is from her iconic cookbook, The Cook’s Companion, which turns 30 this month.

It’s hard to overstate the book’s enduring impact, which has sold half a million copies, on Australian cooks and chefs. A lot has changed since it was published in 1996 – more ingredients have become available in Australia, and home-cooking culture has boomed alongside the internet. So, Alexander spent the last two years updating and adding 90 recipes to the book (just in case it wasn’t already big enough – the original offers 1000 recipes). The updated version is just as essential for home cooking, whether you’ve never used an oven or have 20-year-old stains on your favourite apron.

To celebrate the new release, Alexander has shared her simple banana cake recipe. More refined than your average loaf, this version offers two ways to finish: a crunchy, spiced walnut topping baked right into the batter, or a velvety cream cheese frosting for an extra-special slice. Happy baking.

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Simple banana cake by Stephanie Alexander

Serves 8–10
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients

125g butter, softened
1½ cups caster sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe banana
Few drops of pure vanilla
250g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
⅛ tsp ground allspice
½ cup buttermilk or milk mixed with 1 tsp lemon juice

Walnut and brown sugar topping

1½ tbsp coarsely chopped walnuts
1½ tbsp self-raising flour
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
50g softened butter
1½ tbsp brown sugar

Creamy topping

60g cream cheese or mascarpone
125g pure icing sugar
30g softened butter
A few drops of pure vanilla

Method

Butter and flour a 22cm square cake tin, then line the base with baking paper. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan).

Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, banana and vanilla. Sift the dry ingredients and add to the mixture, alternating with buttermilk.

Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 1 hour, or until a fine skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool the cake in its tin on a wire rack for a few minutes before turning it out. Cool completely before cutting or storing in an airtight tin.

For the walnut and brown sugar topping, combine all the ingredients and scatter the mixture over the uncooked banana cake and bake as above.

For the creamy topping, in a food processor, blend cream cheese or mascarpone, icing sugar and softened butter. Add a few drops of pure vanilla, then spread over the top of the cake once it has cooled.

This is an edited extract from The Cook’s Companion 30th Anniversary Edition by Stephanie Alexander. Published by Penguin Random House (RRP $130).