BANANA CAKE WITH SALTED CARAMEL CREAM

• 225 g self-raising flour
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 175 g caramel sugar
• 100 ml buttermilk
• 250 g mashed bananas
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 150 g butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Filling:
• 2 cups cream
• 150 g caramel treat, beaten smooth
• ⅓ teaspoon sea salt flakes
• 100 g walnuts, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 160°C.
Grease and line 2 x 20 cm baking tins with non-stick paper.
Sift flour and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl.
Make a well in the centre and add the buttermilk, bananas, eggs, butter and vanilla.
Stir well to combine and pour the mixture into the baking tins.
Bake for 30 min or until a skew inserted comes out clean and the cake has pulled away from the sides of the tin.
Allow to cool for about 10 min and turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Toast the walnuts in a dry pan on medium heat for a few minutes making sure the nuts don’t burn.
Place the cream in a bowl and whisk until very stiff peaks form.
Fold in the caramel treat and salt.
Slice each cake horizontally in half.
Assemble layers with filling and nuts.

Photo:  Bernadene Daniels Prinsloo