Apple & Banana Cake

When do you really become an adult? Is it when you offer to host the Christmas dinner party in your house? Or is it when you spend over 7 hours (I kid you not) making lists of the different food possibilities you could make, the different ways you could make place settings (so unnecessary but so damn cute!), do you have to factor in allergies (yep, nuts) or any special requirements (heyyy, vegetarians)? Is it starting a real full-time job? Or is it when you have a dream about being pregnant & proceed to freak out your other half with the information that you rather enjoyed the dream?  

If any of the above make you a real grown-up, then it’s official, I am an adult. I was recently offered a full-time job at work, which gives me waayyy more responsibility than I ever thought they’d give me, but I am so excited (& only a little bit stressed). I also recently had a dream that I was pregnant. I loved every second of the dream (& btdubz, in case you were wondering, I am so cute as a pregnant lady), but it made The Boyf hella stressed out to hear the glee in my voice as I described every detail. As for volunteering to host the Christmas dinner party, I jumped at the opportunity to have it in my house. A true adult. I have never been so excited about planning an evening in my life. 

Sure, I was kinda stressed out about all the little details in the beginning, but after an embarrassing amount of lists & several million conversations with just about everyone I know ever, I pretty much have the whole thing sorted through in my head – starters, the main, the sides, desserts, & then the little random things I want to bake just because. Kinda. The list keeps expanding, but hey, we’re dealing.

As much as I’m looking forward to making an awesome fancy dinner for all my friends, a little part of me wishes that it could be a simple affair (which, of course, it could, but I just can’t allow myself to do that. Damn internal battle.). The last time we had a dinner party, I brought this simple & delicious Apple & Banana Cake. 

It’s actually a simple everyday cake in disguise, the lusciously smooth cream cheese frosting & the chopped walnuts trick you into thinking it’s fancier than it actually is. Which, quite frankly, is exactly what you need during the Christmas party season. 

Ingredients 

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup of caster sugar
• ½ cup of light brown sugar
• 1 cup of salted butter, melted
• 2 cups of plain flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons of ground cinnamon
• 2 cups of grated apple, with as much juice as possible squeezed out
• 1 ½ cups of mashed bananas 
• 1 cup of walnuts, chopped, with extra for decoration 

• 100g of brown sugar
• 100g of butter
• 80-100g of caramel
• 230g of cream cheese

Method 

1.  Preheat the oven to 180-degrees C & grease & line two 9-inch baking tins with parchment paper. Set aside. 
2. Using an electric whisk, beat together the eggs with the two types of sugars in a large bowl until the mixture is light & fluffy. Add in the melted butter & incorporate fully. 
3. Into the same bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, mixing to incorporate. Using a spatula, fold in the grated & mashed up fruit, as well as the chopped walnuts. 
4. Divide the batter equally between the two prepared tins & bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. 
5. Allow the cakes to cool in the tin before removing.
6. While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting. 
7. In a medium bowl, beat together the sugar, butter & caramel until pale & fluffy. Add all of the cream cheese & continue to beat until the mixture is smooth & creamy. 
8. When the cakes are cooled, remove from the tin start frosting. Spread a layer of the frosting between the two cakes, & then a generous layer on top of the cake. When happy with the amount of frosting (you can never have too much), sprinkle some chopped walnuts over the top. Perfection.