RECIPE: Jess' Banana Cake with Edible Flowers

Images by Maja Baska

For a bit of cooking inspiration we share a Banana Cake recipe from our valued member Jess Leslie. Jess regularly shares dishes with her neighbours Pat and Nicky. This banana cake is one of those dishes and makes the perfect treat to give to someone who needs a big bowl of comfort in their life.

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BANANA CAKE WITH EDIBLE FLOWERS

Recipe and Words by Jess Leslie

We first met Pat when we moved to the Mountains from Sydney, three and a half years ago.

As soon as we moved in, she poked her head over the fence to offer us gardening tools – coming from the city, she could tell we were complete novices.

Not long after, we met Nicky just before they moved back to Bristol. The two of them chased the Summer – spending half the year in the UK and the other here in the Mountains.

I gave birth to my daughter Sylvia and not long after Pat returned from back from England. Pat was there every day - dropping off food, making cups of tea, helping me nurse my daughter, offering love, guidance, and support.

Since then, Pat and Nicky have been our everything – we feel like we won the neighbor lottery! They feed and nourish us, share recipes, articles, books, and gardening tools. They cut our hair, teach us how to cook and garden and knit. Above all - they love our daughter, who equally, loves them, in abundance and they are, unquestionably, the center of her little world. They’ve created a pathway in their garden called Sylvia’s Forest where she climbs trees and feeds the worms and fish and picks fresh vegetables for her dinner.

Pat and Nicky have taught us about community. We had never lived in one before – moving straight out of home into various share-houses where the ‘community’ was the house itself.

Pat and Nicky have taught us why community matters.

They help us feel part of something real, integrated and tangible – and deepen our sense of place and belonging here in the Blue Mountains.

I have never met two more generous people – who spend their lives building and nurturing community. As mentors within their midwifery community - advocating for better outcomes for women and children in birth – and as neighbors – supporting others through friendship, meals, gardening, and importantly, connecting people with one another.

Our relationship has also been a great lesson in the importance of intergenerational friendships – allowing opportunities to learn and grow from one another, by seeing things from a different perspective, without judgment and bias.

Living with COVID has been kind to us. Sadly, for them, they couldn’t return to the UK to be with their beloved family – but we got to hold onto them for almost two years. We drop food on one another’s doorstep, share an afternoon wine over the fence, and laugh and cry our way through the difficulties of COVID.

That’s the remarkable thing that has come out of the last 18 months – despite all the challenges, there have been these beautiful small acts of kindness and connection enable communities to build connection and resilience.

Our relationship and so many others on our street and community are testaments to that.

Banana Cake with Edible Flowers

Ingredients:

- 3 Large ripe bananas

- 3 Cups of All-purpose flour

- 1 teaspoon baking power

- 1 teaspoon of baking soda

- ½ teaspoon of cinnamon

- ½ teaspoon of salt

- ¾ cup of unsalted butter

- 1 cup of Maple syrup

- 3 eggs

- 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract

- 1 ½ cups of buttermilk (DIY with room temperature full cream milk and stir in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and leave for 5 minutes)

Icing:

- 1 block of cream cheese (softened to room temperature)

- ½ cup of butter (softened to room temperature)

- ¼ cup of maple syrup

- 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

- 1/8 teaspoon of salt

- Edible flowers

Instructions:

1.Preheat oven to 177 degree and grease a 22cm pan (or thereabouts)

2. Make the cake: Mash the bananas

3.Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together and set aside

4.Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy – about 1 minute. Add maple syrup and beat on high for 2 minutes until mixed. Add eggs and vanilla and beat on medium-high until combined, then beat in the mashed bananas. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk and mixing each addition until just incorporated. Do not over mix – Batter should be a bit lumpy.

5. Pour batter into pan and bake for 40-45 minutes

6. Remove from pan and allow to cool (approximately 45 minutes – or put in fridge to speed it up)

7. Make the frosting: In a large bowl, add cream cheese, butter on a high speed until smooth and creamy. Add maple syrup, vanilla and taste. You can add as much maple syrup as you like, but I like my frosting tart and not sweet (other additions can include lemon and lemon zest). Spread the frosting on the cooled cake and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving – this helps set the frosting and makes cutting easier.

8. Top with edible flowers – we used Pat and Nicky’s violets and pansies.