The Basics of Cake: The Banana Coconut Cake

When I was growing up in New Manila, Quezon City many seasons ago, I remember how I used to ogle at the many pictures of cake in cookbooks that my mother had stored in the kitchen cabinet.  To a ten probably twelve year old boy then, 1977 perhaps, a 1956 or a 1948 cookbook wasn’t so old.  When I had the chance to revisit that old kitchen cabinet where I used to get these books, most of these are already tattered and torn at the sides, with covers that have the grime of dust and the paper browned with age simply because the humidity of Philippine weather is not conducive to preserve artifacts of even recent yesteryears.  It is a tragedy because I could imagine how recipes could be lost simply because of this simple process of deterioration.

The Banana Coconut Cake. A recipe
that came to being in an instant.

Anyway, back to the story.  It has always been a mystery to me how come cake batter rises in the heat of the oven. Besides, there were some old housewives takes about what NOT to do during the baking process or how NOT to blend the batter or how NOT to beat the eggs, etc. etc. etc.

My mother was able to say, "I know if your cake
batter is going to be success."

So, there I was trying to figure the mysteries of cake.  I followed each and every instruction that the cookbook told me, and despite the meticulous, intensive mental involvement the final product was one that I find unbearable to be consumed yet unbearable to be fed to our pet German Shepherd, Olga. So many kilos of wheat flour, sugar, eggs, milk, flavorings and baking powder went to waste. Needless to say, my mother scolded me for being the frustrated cook that I was.

But the frustration did pay off.  You see, cooking and baking is a science.  The difference is that unlike the creation of new compounds through these chemical reactions, we make mixtures in which all the individual ingredients retain their native characteristics. By preserving the individual component's character and with their proper proportion, they bring out the flavor and  subsequent chemical stimulation of the tongue’s taste senses.  In addition, using the texture of each ingredient and with proper technique, combining and even transforming that texture, the dessert can come out smooth and moist, or worse – dry or grainy.

Which leads us to the various aspects of cake.  What makes it light and moist?  What makes it hold up yet retain its moistness?  Why is it soft?  Why is it dry? What makes it hold up and give structure rather than the failed flat brownie that it could be?

If one knows the answers to these questions, one can make cake right on the spot seeing the ingredients at one has in the panty and the refrigerator.

And such is the case with my Banana-Coconut Loaf Cake.  One day, as I was strolling along the supermarket aisle, I saw some "over" ripe bananas (here in the US, ripe is just yellow, shiny yet has a sticky feel - what we call in the Philippines, "mapakla"; meanwhile the ones with the mildly blotched yellow peel are classified as "overripe" but certainly, this is what us Filipinos find palatable) on sale.  Because they were cheap, I managed to grab quite a lot leaving me some to make some cake.

Hmm...coconut...

...and bananas? Why, yes! We can make cake!

I know that these large Cavendish bananas will provide more than what is needed for Banana Cake, teaming it with my leftover desiccated coconut in the pantry, I modified the whole recipe to become Banana-Coconut Loaf Cake.

I said the structure is just as important as its moistness and sweetness.  And the proportions are as follows:

• Sweetness and Oils.  Sweet is the taste basics of cake as with any dessert.  Oils provide softness and moisture retention.  Usually, sweetness and oils come in terms of sugar and butter and made light in the process of creaming, the proportion is 1 cup sugar : 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter. This is just right to make the mixture fluffy, the sugar well incorporated, the mixture whipped containing the right amount of air that is important for leavening the cake. The fact that air is contained in the whipping of sugar in butter, making it velvety smooth is the process known as Creaming.

  

  Sugar...

  
  

  

  ...and butter, provide the sweetness and moisture retention.
  Just like lotion that contains oils, butter retains the
  moisture of the cake.

• Structure. Cake structure is made through the ability of the dry ingredients to hold the oils, sugars and liquids which provide the moisture.  In the case of cake, this is provided by flour and in this recipe, also desiccated coconut.  Dry ingredients, in proportion to the above, is one cup.

  

  Flour is there for a reason: nutritionally, its the basic
  carbohydrate. But it is there for structure as well.

• Liquids to provide mixability and moisture usually come in terms of milk.  In some cakes, it is juice or even plain water.  Usually, this is 1/2 cup.
• Flavorings.  These are the small things which provide flavor and dimension - usually, this is vanilla and leavening agent such as baking powder or soda.  Usually, I make this 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract and 1/2 tablespoon baking powder.  If baking soda is used, be sure to add the other half of the chemical reaction to release the gas during the exothermic reaction to provide more leavening to the cake batter.  This is vinegar.  (See my comment on neutralization in my last post.)
• Eggs.  Eggs are somewhat more liquid than solid.  It is a totally a class of its own because of its gelatinous quality, it can be whipped and made light.  In terms of the above, what is needed is 1 or 1-1/2 eggs.

So, notice: the basic proportion is:

1 stick butter:1 cup sugar:1 cup flour:1/2 cup milk:1-1 1/2 eggs

To this, our derived recipe became:

• 2 sticks (1 cup) butter
• 2 cups brown sugar, well packed
• 2 cups all purpose flour sifted
• 1 cup milk
• 3 whole eggs

Then, one adds the flavorings which make the cake:

• 2 Cavendish bananas (mashed)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup shredded desiccated coconut
• 1 teaspoon salt (to make the sweetness come forward, see?)

And what is cake without any leavening to make it light?

• 1 tablespoon baking powder OR
• 1 tablespoon baking soda PLUS 1 tablespoon white vinegar

Now, we have enumerated the ingredients of the cake, let's proceed how to make it.  Usually, the steps are:

1. Combine in one bowl: flour, salt, baking powder or baking soda and desiccated coconut.
2. Combine in a Pyrex cup: milk, vanilla, vinegar (if baking soda is used)
3. Cream the sugar and butter, first a medium speed to incorporate, then high speed to whip and add air to the mixture.
4. Add the three eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
5. Add the mashed bananas, again mixing well after adding.
6. In three separate batches of flour and milk mix, add each flour/milk mix one at a time mixing well after each addition.  Do not forget to use the spatula to gently center all the ingredients in the middle of the bowl while mixing. Stop mixing when the batter is smooth and well incorporated.
7. Divide the batter in two loaf pans lined with parchment paper.
8. Bake in a preheated oven, 325 to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about fifty minutes to an hour. You may want to use the lower temperature because of the high sugar content of the batter would make the crust darker but whether light or dark is a matter of personal preference.
9. Remove from the oven and cool completely before peeling away the parchment paper and slicing it to serve.  You may dust the cake with powdered sugar before serving.  This will make it nice and pretty.

Tip:

• Testing the cake with a toothpick or long thin kebab stick is only done in order to see if the cake is already dry and cooked within.  DO NOT OPEN the oven door prematrely or else the wet batter and the crust not having formed well will result in releasing all the hard earned leavening air within the batter thus flattening the cake like a popped balloon.  Certainly, YOU DO NOT WANT a failed cake.