Banana Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Icing (Glut

• servings: 10 servings
• active time: 45 minutes
• total time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Ingredients

220 g (1 cup) mashed bananas (2 medium bananas) + 10 g for high altitude

1 tbsp lemon juice

200 g (1 ¾ sticks) unsalted butter

125 g (½ cup + 2 tbsp) light brown soft sugar

2 UK medium/US large eggs, room temperature

100 g (⅓ cup + 1 ½ tbsp) full-fat plain natural or Greek-style yoghurt, room temperature + 1 1/2 Tablespoons for high altitude

½ tsp vanilla bean paste (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

225 g (1 ¾ cups + 2 tbsp) plain gluten free flour blend + 2 Tablespoons for high altitude:

120 g tapioca flour, 60 g millet flour, 60 g buckwheat flour=240 g

50 g (½ cup) almond flour, plus extra for dusting the bundt pan

1 ½ tsp baking powder -1/8 teaspoon for high altitude

¾ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp xanthan gum (Omit if your GF flour blend already contains xanthan gum.)

¼ tsp sea salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

90 g (3 oz) milk and/or dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

80 g (⅔ cup) pecans, chopped (plus extra for decoration)-optional

Icing:

100 g (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) icing/powdered sugar

45 g (3 tbsp) full-fat cream cheese, room temperature

15 g (1 tbsp) whole milk, room temperature (can use almond or oat milk)

½ tsp vanilla bean paste (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

Directions

For banana bundt cake:

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, pre-heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and generously butter a 10-cup bundt pan (about 8.5 inch/22cm wide and 4 inch/10cm deep) – this is the one I used from NordicWare – and, once buttered, dust it lightly with almond flour.Tip: You can also dust the bundt pan with the gluten free flour blend, especially if you’re allergic to nuts. But almond flour, due to its higher fat content, really helps with getting the bundt cake out of the pan quickly, cleanly and in one piece.

Mix the mashed bananas with the lemon juice (to prevent oxidation and browning) and set aside.

To brown the butter:Add the butter to a saucepan (preferably one with a light-coloured interior that allows you to see the butter changing colour) and cook it over medium-high heat with frequent stirring for 8-10 minutes in total.The butter will first melt and then start bubbling and foaming. Finally, it will turn amber. You should see specks of a deep brown/amber colour on the bottom of the saucepan (those are the caramelised milk solids).Remove from heat, pour the browned butter into a separate bowl, and allow to cool until warm.

Add about 150g (about ¾ cup + 1 tbsp) of the browned butter to a large bowl. Reserve the rest (about 1 ½ – 2 tablespoons) for the icing.

Add the light brown soft sugar, eggs, yoghurt and vanilla to the butter, and use a large balloon whisk to whisk them together until well combined.

Add the mashed bananas and whisk well until combined.

In a separate bowl, sift together the gluten free flour blend, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk well until you get a smooth cake batter with no flour clumps.

Add the chocolate chips and chopped pecans, and use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to mix them into the batter until evenly distributed.

Transfer the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan. Tap the pan on the worktop to level out the top of the batter and to help the batter settle into all the grooves of the bundt pan.

Bake at 350ºF (180ºC) for about 50-52 minutes or until well risen, golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached. If the top of the cake starts browning too quickly, cover with aluminium foil (shiny side up) and continue baking until done.

Allow to cool in the bundt pan for about 15 minutes, then carefully turn it out of the pan onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

For brown butter cream cheese icing:

If the reserved browned butter has cooled down and firmed up, reheat it briefly either in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stovetop.

Mix the reserved brown butter with the rest of the icing ingredients until you get a smooth, thick yet runny icing that thickly coats the back of a spoon.Tip: At this stage, you can easily adjust the icing consistency by adding more milk (if you want it runnier/thinner) or by adding more icing/powdered sugar (to make it thicker).

Transfer the cooled bundt pan onto the serving/dessert platter of choice and drizzle it with the icing.

Decorate with chopped pecans while the icing is still wet to the touch, then allow the icing to set (it will dry out slightly on the surface, so it will no longer be wet to the touch) at room temperature for about 30 minutes, before slicing and serving.

Storage:

The banana bundt cake keeps well in a closed container in a cool dry place for 3-4 days.

Notes

I cooked at 365 for high altitude but it was done in 40-45 minutes so try 350 next time and see. I covered the cake after 30 minutes in the oven. Use rack on the 4th notch up.

I added the cinnamon and nutmeg to the recipe.