IMAGES: PATRICIA NIVEN
Plantain or banana, coconut & cardamom cake There’s a pudding from Zanzibar called ndizi mbivu, which is basically overripe sweet plantains stewed with coconut milk and cardamom. As a kid, the look of it put me off — I must have been about 20 when I began to understand how something so simple could yield so much comfort and flavour. I have a recipe for it in my book, but this ‘prettier’ version brings the same ingredients into a cake. I like to serve it warm, but you can leave it to cool — just be sure to remove from the tin while still warm. It’ll keep for 4–5 days in an airtight container. SERVES: 6-8 TAKES: 45 MINS
INGREDIENTS 160g plantain or banana, puréed, plus 1 sliced
200g plain flour 2 tsp baking powder 80g caster sugar 80g soft light brown sugar 100g desiccated coconut 3 eggs 185ml vegetable oil 10 cardamom pods, crushed, or 1 tbsp ground cardamom
FOR THE CARAMEL 100g soft light brown sugar 3 tbsp unsalted butter
METHOD Heat oven to 200C, 180C fan, gas 6.
Grease a 20cm cake tin and line with baking parchment.
To make the caramel, put the sugar in a
saucepan over a low–medium heat and allow it to gradually melt, gently swirling the pan to help ensure all the sugar melts evenly. Once the sugar has all melted, add the butter and keep stirring until smooth. Arrange the sliced banana or plantain in the
base of the prepared tin, then pour over the caramel. Set aside. Combine the remaining ingredients in a
large bowl and whisk until smooth, being careful not to over-whisk. Pour the batter over the banana and caramel. Bake for 20 mins, then reduce the heat to 190C, 170C fan, gas 5 and bake for a further 25 mins until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 mins, then remove from the tin while still warm.
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