If you are baking for a crowd over the bank holiday weekend, opting for something fun and a little extravagant seems the only way forward. Enter the hazelnut banoffee cake. It incorporates everything you adore in the classic dessert: banana, toffee sauce, fluffy whipped cream, and shaved chocolate, but with added nuttiness and an overall less cloying sweetness.
Hazelnut Banoffee Cake
Prep 10 minutes | Cook 1 hour | Serves 12-16
For the cake:
- 100g whole blanched hazelnuts
- 180g dark brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 200g very ripe bananas (about 2 medium bananas), peeled and mashed
- 150g unsalted butter, melted
- 145g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ tsp salt
For the toffee sauce:
- 75g dark brown sugar
- 30g unsalted butter
- 100ml double cream
- 1 big pinch flaky sea salt
For the topping:
- 300ml double cream
- 100g soured cream
- 1 tbsp icing sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 ripe banana, peeled and sliced
- 25g dark chocolate, shaved
Method
Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Place the hazelnuts on a small baking tray and roast for 10-12 minutes until fragrant and lightly browned. Remove, allow to cool, then chop 15g of the nuts and set aside for the topping. Put the remaining hazelnuts in a food processor and pulse until very finely ground.
Grease and line a 23cm x 33cm tin, leaving enough overhang to help lift the cake out later. In a bowl, combine the sugar and eggs, and whip on medium-high speed for one to two minutes until the mixture looks lighter and fluffier (do not take it to ribbon stage). Fold in the mashed banana, followed by the melted butter. Gently stir in the ground hazelnuts, flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Meanwhile, prepare the toffee sauce. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, heat gently until everything has melted, then bring to a boil and cook for exactly one minute. Spoon half the sauce over the warm cake, spreading it out carefully, then allow to cool completely.
Once cooled, whip the double cream, soured cream, icing sugar, and vanilla bean paste together until soft peaks form. Spoon the cream over the cooled cake, then drizzle the remaining toffee sauce on top. Decorate with sliced banana, reserved chopped hazelnuts, and chocolate shavings. Slice and serve.
