Moist Banana Cake

I was searching for a good Banana cake recipe for a long time. I was so bored with the usual 'Banana bread recipe'. This recipe is a result of combining 2 recipes which I found on the net with a few more added ingredients. I have tried this recipe and it was a hit both in our house and with our neighbors. This cake will surely come soft even if you omit the eggs because of the combination of buttermilk, baking powder and baking soda.

Good luck and Happy cooking!

Moist Banana cake:

3/4 cup butter
2 cups- White sugar
1/8 cups- Brown sugar
1/4 cup Hazelnut syrup or honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tsp Cardamom powder
1/4 tsp Nutmeg powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 Eggs (Optional) instead add 1/4 cup Applesauce
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
A pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
4 mashed ripe bananas
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. In a small bowl, mix mashed bananas, set aside. In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients well together with the nuts and the spices.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. If you are adding eggs beat in one at a time, if not, all the other wet ingredients.
Add the flour mixture slowly to the wet ingredients and just fold them lightly, do not over mix them.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place the
cake on a wire rack to cool.

This recipe makes a soft and moist cake with a little bit crispy top layer.

Blueberry jam cake

I love Blueberries and I was looking for a cake recipe with it. I found this recipe to be interesting. The original asked for blueberry jam, but I used Strawberry jam because I didn't have the blueberry jam.. You can use 'Kissan mixed fruit jam' too or any jam of your choice. You can add Cinnamon if you want but I didn't, instead I added cardamom powder. You can make it any shape you want. I used a rectangle Pyrex dish and lined it with wax paper because I feel the cake becomes darker on the sides if I use a non-stick spray. For any recipe, even though it asks for fresh berries or dried berries, I tend to cook them prior to adding it to the cake because I feel it enhances the flavor a little bit more.

Mixed berry jam cake

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons double acting baking powder
A pinch of salt
1/4 tsp Nutmeg powder
1/4 tsp Cardamom powder
1 cup fresh, dried or frozen Blue berries (cooked in a cup of water until soft and drained)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup Jam of your choice
2/3 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350° and grease and prepare your baking dish.
2. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices; stir to blend.
3. In a mixing bowl whisk eggs with the jam, milk, vanilla, melted butter and then add the cooked and drained blue berries. Stir in the dry ingredients just until blended.
4. Spoon into the prepared pan; bake for 30 to 45 minutes or pick inserted in the center comes out clean.