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Plantain Cake

Also known as Plantain Cake (Nigerian Banana-Plantain Loaf)

Plantain Cake is a modern Nigerian baking innovation that uses very ripe plantains — the same overripe, almost-black-skinned plantains that produce the sweetest Dodo — as the primary flavouring and moisture agent in a rich, dense, deeply golden loaf cake. Plantains are richer in flavour and more complex in sweetness than bananas, with a distinct tropical character that makes a plantain cake noticeably more interesting than a standard banana bread.

Plantain Cake, Nigerian cooking

Ingredients

  • 3 big very ripe plantains (skin almost entirely black), peeled and mashed completely smooth
  • 2 big cups of plain flour
  • 1 big cup of sugar
  • 2 big eggs
  • A big cooking spoon of butter or margarine, melted
  • Half a tin of evaporated milk
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
  • Half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • Half a teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • A pinch of salt

Method

  1. 01

    Mashing the Plantains. Peel the very ripe plantains and mash completely smooth in a large bowl — absolutely no lumps. The blacker and softer the plantain skin, the sweeter and more flavourful the cake.

  2. 02

    Combining Wet Ingredients. Add melted butter, eggs, evaporated milk and vanilla extract to the mashed plantain. Whisk together until smooth and well combined.

  3. 03

    Adding Dry Ingredients. Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt together in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the plantain mixture. Fold gently with a spoon until just combined — do not overmix.

  4. 04

    Baking. Pour into a greased loaf tin. Smooth the surface. Bake at a moderate heat for 55 to 65 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. The top should be deep golden-brown.

  5. 05

    Cooling. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a rack. Cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing.

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