Banana Boston Cream Cake Recipe

Banana Boston Cream Cake

By Rachel Howard on 01/24/2016

A delicious banana sponge cake filled with fresh custard and topped with a rich chocolate ganache.

Prep Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

So last week I was meant to bake a cake for the snack bar we set up at work. Unfortunately I was called to a meeting in London on the Monday so I wasn’t able to take it in to the office. Fortunately, there was an office of men eagerly awaiting the cake at my husbands office!

Before I decided on what to bake, I went through The Hummingbird Bakery book. I hadn’t flicked through it in a while and found quite a few recipes I’m still yet to try. I marked them up and asked Kieron to decide – this was a clear winner.

I’m not overly keen on banana in cakes, but I love home-made custard so was happy to give it a try.

Although the actual processes are all simple, it does take a while to make this cake due to having to put it in the fridge to set. But judging by the comments that were fed back to me I would say it’s definitely worth it.

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 170C and line the cake tins with baking paper.
• Cream the butter and sugar together using an electric mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy – this can take a little while.
• Add the eggs one at a time and mix well. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
• In a jug, mix together the mashed banana, sour cream and vanilla extract.
• In a bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking power and bicarbonate of soda.
• With the mixer on a slow speed, slowly pour the sour cream mixture into the butter and sugar and mix well.
• Add the dry ingredients and mix until the batter is smooth.
• Divide the batter between the cake tins and bake for 25-35 minutes.
• Leave to cool for a few minutes and then remove from the tins to cool completely before finishing.

Method:

• While the cakes are cooling, make the custard filling.
• Bring the milk and vanilla extract to boil in a medium pan.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the egg yolks, sugar and flour to create a paste (add a spoonful of the hot milk to loosen if required)
• Once the milk is boiling, pour a small amount of it onto the paste and mix.
• Add the paste to the remaining milk and put it back on the heat.
• Whisk constantly until it forms a thick custard.
• Gently boil the custard for 4-5 minutes until the flour is fully cooked (do not over cook as the eggs will start to scramble!)
• Pour the cooked custard onto a baking tray and immediately cover with cling film to prevent a skin forming.
• Set aside to cool completely.

Method:

• Once the sponge layers are cool you can start to assemble the cake.
• Mix the custard with an electric whisk (or in a mixer) on a slow speed until it is smooth.
• Place the first sponge layer on a cake board (preferably the same size as the cake) and top with the cold custard.
• Smooth the custard out and sandwich the second sponge on top.
• Wrap the sides of the cake in clingfilm and pop it in the fridge to set for 45 minutes.
• While the cake is in the fridge, make the ganache.
• In a medium pan, heat the cream until close to boiling.
• Put the chopped dark chocolate to a mixing bowl and then pour over the warm cream.
• Stir until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth and shiny.
• Put a wire cooling rack over a deep baking tray.
• Place the chilled cake on the cooling rack and remove the clingfilm.
• Pour the chocolate ganache over the cake and gently push it over  the edges using a palette knife. The chocolate will run off the cake and drop into the baking tray.
• This process can be repeated as much as you need to coat the cake evenly.
• Pop the cake back in the fridge for 40 minutes to set.
• Decorate with chocolate shavings.

The cake was quite dense compared to what I’m used to making and I didn’t get the ganache quite right so I was slightly worried about how this cake would turn out. I don’t think I needed to worry.

At 9.46am I received a text from Kieron that said ‘Everyone has gone nuts for the cake’.

I’m not sure exactly what time they devoured it, but I’m guessing it didn’t stick around for long.