Me and measuring cups have a checkered past. When Nuwan and I were getting ready for our wedding, we went to Myer (big Aussie department store) and registered. That’s the fun part where they give you scanners and you can walk around the store scanning items that your guests will hopefully buy for you. We spent a lot of time in the kitchen and home wares section. When we were selecting measuring cups I went for form over function. There were pretty white OXO ones that matched the spoons and kitchen tools I’d gotten. I decided to go for those over some of the more industrial looking (read ugly) ones. Now, I bake A LOT! Like 2-3 times a week a lot. A few months into using these cups I discovered that the paper stickers that denoted which cup measured what was rubbing off. I had to get out the whole set to make sure I was measuring a 1/3 over 1/4. It was a pain.

On a trip to home wares store I convinced Nuwan I really needed the $25 metal bakers secret set that had the measurements engraved on. He was easily convinced and I placed them triumphantly into the cupboard, relegating the plastic set to the Vinnie’s pile. No more labels rubbing off! About a week into using them I dropped the 1/4 cup measure, this isn’t unusual I’m constantly droppings things. Unfortunately, the handle broke off! I was super angry. I immediately emailed the complaints department at Baker’s Secret and told them of my predicament. Surely it wasn’t normal. They responded quickly and I got a new set in the mail. A week later I dropped the 1/4 cup again and alas, the handle snapped straight off. I now have 2 sets of measuring cups, which do actually come in handy but the quarter cup is sadly still missing.

It’s because of this I hardly use a quarter cup measure in my recipes. Today as I was making this cake I was certain it needed 1/4 cup of sugar so I hunted around the house for the remaining cup. It was still there, thank goodness, buried in my collection of metal cutters.

Be warned this isn’t a sweet cake. If you like your cakes sweet you can easily up the sugar to 1/2 cup and not affect the consistency of the cake. Likewise, cutting out the sugar altogether should work fine too.

Ingredients

Cake

• 3/4 cup banana (mashed)
• ¼ cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter at room temperature
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup millk
• 2 cups flour (I used ½ cup wholemeal and 1 1/2 cups plain)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Glaze

• 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup
• 2 tbsp. of butter
• 1 tbsp. of cornflour dissolved in 2 tablespoons of cool water
• pinch of salt to taste

Topping

• 1/3 cup of chopped pecans

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 F or 180C. Grease and line a  8 inch round tin (I used a 6 inch and used the overflow cake mix to make some cupcakes for Mister C). I use the butter wrapper to grease my tin.

In a medium sized bowl mix together the mashed bananas, softened butter, brown sugar and milk. Crack the eggs into a seperate bowl and beat until a little frothy. Add to the banana mixture and set aside.

In a second bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.  Add the flour to the banana and egg mixture and stir. It will be lumpy so don’t stress too much about getting it smooth.

Pour into your greased pan and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Leave to cool for a few minutes in the tin.

In a small saucepan combine the butter, salt and maple syrup over a low heat and stir until the butter is melted.   When the butter has melted add the cornflour mixture and keep stirring until the glaze thickens slightly. Sorry no photos of this one. You want it to be thick enough to pour on the cake and not have it run down the sides a little.

When the glaze has thickened enough to pour, use the same testing skewer to make a few holes in the top of your cake. This will allow some of the glaze to soak into the cake and make it even better.

Pour on the glaze and add a handful of chopped pecans on top for extra crunch and yumminess!