Will Torrent’s Fairtrade Chocolate Banana Bundt Cake with salted caramel frosting is a showstopper any time of year, but is especially fitting for Fairtrade Fortnight.
This delicious cake tastes as good as it looks, with Fairtrade bananas, cocoa and sugar on the inside, a salted caramel sauce drizzled over the top and then a scattering of caramelised pecans to finish.
Will Torrent has been with Waitrose for 10 years and is now Senior Development & Innovation Chef. He is a committed supporter of Fairtrade.
You can find the Fairtrade ingredients for this Bundt cake in your local Waitrose.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- John Lewis Professional Non-Stick Decorative Cake Tin
- John Lewis ANYDAY Spatula
- 4 ripe Fairtrade medium bananas
- 200g Essential Waitrose Unsalted Butter at room temperature, plus extra to grease
- 85g Essential Waitrose Soured Cream
- 4 medium Essential Waitrose eggs, lightly beaten
- 50g Duchy Fairtrade Organic Cocoa Powder, plus extra for dusting
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 75g Waitrose Fairtrade Golden Caster Sugar
- 100g Waitrose Fairtrade Light Brown Muscovado Sugar
- 225g Essential Waitrose Plain Flour
- 50g Waitrose Cooks’ Ingredients Corn Flour
- 2 tsp Waitrose Cooks’ Ingredients Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Waitrose Cooks’ Ingredients Bicarbonate of Soda
- 50g Waitrose Pecan Nuts
For the icing:
- 100ml Essential Waitrose Double Cream
- 75g Essential Waitrose Unsalted Butter
- 200g Waitrose Fairtrade Light Brown Muscovado Sugar
- 30g Waitrose No.1 Fairtrade Dark Chocolate 80% Peru
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
FFor the caramelised pecans:
- 50g Waitrose Pecan Nuts
- 30g Waitrose No.1 Canadian Maple Syrup
- Pinch of sea salt
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190°C, gas mark 5. Melt 2 tsp butter and use to brush the inside of the bundt tin, getting into all the nooks and crannies. Dust with cocoa, covering every surface, then hold the tin upside-down and tap to get rid of the excess. Mash the bananas with a fork until smooth, add the soured cream and vanilla; set aside.
- Tip the caster and muscovado sugars and 200g butter into the bowl of a freestanding mixer; beat well until pale and light – about 3-4 minutes. Gradually add the egg, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula as you go. Now add the banana mixture, flour, corn flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa and a pinch of salt, mixing to combine thoroughly.
- Fold the chopped pecan nuts into the mixture, then spoon into the tin. Level with the back of a spoon and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 30-40 minutes, until well risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 2-3 minutes, then turn out onto on a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
- To make the caramelised pecans, place the nuts onto a greaseproof lined baking sheet and drizzle with 30g (2 tbsp) of the maple syrup. Toast the nuts on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 6-8 minutes until crisp and starting to caramelise. Remove from the oven, stir and set aside for 3-4 minutes to cool, then roughly chop.
- For the icing, gently heat the sugar, butter and cream in a small saucepan until dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate, vanilla and a large pinch of salt and stir until silky smooth; leave to cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Carefully spoon the icing over the cooled cake, allowing it to drizzle over the sides. Leave to set for a few minutes before scattering the top of the cake with the chopped caramelised pecan nuts. Leave to set completely before serving.
Will has been with Waitrose for 10 years, firstly as a Consultant Pastry Chef and now as a Senior Development & Innovation Chef. He is the author of three popular baking books, including the best-selling Afternoon Tea at Home. His no-nonsense approach to the techniques in patisserie and chocolate making has earned high praise in reviews for all his books.
This recipe has been shared as part of our Fairtrade Fortnight 2022 Choose The World You Want festival.
Find more recipes in the festival Foodie Tent