The little cakes in this picture were so little that we had to eat at lease four at a time to be satisfied. But they are very cute. The recipe for the cakes is from Stephanie Alexander’s Cook’s Companion and it makes the lightest, loveliest banana cake. I add the lemon icing as I feel its tartness cuts through the sweetness of the banana cake providing a lovely contrast. Whether you make cakelets (the ones in this picutre are about 3 centimetres in diameter), cupcakes or a large cake, this recipe is a treat.

for the cakes
125 grams butter
1 1/2 cups castor sugar
2 eggs
1teaspoon vanilla extract
2 bananas (the riper the better), mashed
250 grams plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup buttermilk (or ½ cup regular milk mixed with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice)

for the icing
2 cups icing sugar
zest and juice of one lemon

for the cakes
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs (a little at a time at first to prevent curdling), banana and vanilla. Finally, sift the dry ingredients into a separate bowl and add one third of this followed by one third of the butter milk, followed by one third of the dry ingredients and so on until finished. Spoon your batter into mini patty-pans. Cook at the bottom of a 180ºC oven (170ºC if fan-forced) for approximately 7-10 minutes or until lightly golden and springy when pressed lightly in the middle (of course, the bigger the cakes, the longer the cooking time). Cool the cakes completely before icing.

for the icing