On 20 October, my little one turned 1. Before being able to celebrate with his little friends, we celebrated this first year just the four of us. And even though we were a small group, my eldest isn’t very keen on cake and I knew baby would taste (or not) only a mouthful, I still needed to find a cake to put his pretty candle on. My choice fell on a very simple cake to make, which can please children as much as parents: a banana, Dulcey and pecan loaf cake.
To make this banana, Dulcey and pecan loaf cake, you need very ripe bananas. Generally, I use up my almost-black bananas by making a banana bread. In fact, on the blog you can find a banana loaf cake recipe inspired by Christophe Michalak but also a banana and dark chocolate chip loaf cake recipe. This time, I wanted to pimp it up a little by adding Dulcey chocolate and pecans. The result is frankly delicious and so indulgent.
For those who don’t know it, Valrhona’s Dulcey chocolate is a blond chocolate with delicious biscuity notes. It’s quite addictive (you’ve been warned…). As well as the Dulcey glaze, I also made Dulcey chocolate chips to put inside the cake. It’s very simple to do. Just melt a little Dulcey chocolate (ideally, following the tempering curve), put it in a small piping bag without a nozzle (cut a small opening with scissors) and pipe little chocolate drops. Chill or even freeze for a few minutes so you can handle them easily afterwards. Careful, if the chocolate isn’t tempered (like mine), it melts quite fast) 🙂
Here’s a dessert that’s simple to prepare and terribly indulgent. I simply loved this loaf cake!
Ingredients & method
2 components · Full recipe
Cake
Ingredients
- 75 g (2.6 oz) softened butter
- 75 g (2.6 oz) muscovado sugar (or light brown sugar)
- 50 g (1.8 oz) eggs (about 1 egg)
- 140 g (4.9 oz) ripe bananas
- 120 g (4.2 oz) plain flour (T55)
- 5 g (0.2 oz) baking powder
- 10 g (0.4 oz) amber rum
- 50 g (1.8 oz) chopped pecans
- 50 g (1.8 oz) Dulcey chocolate chips (homemade)
Preparation
1
Preheat the oven to 150°C / 300°F with the fan setting.
2
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the softened butter and muscovado sugar and beat vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes. The mixture will thicken and turn slightly pale.
3
Add the egg and beat at maximum speed for one minute. The mixture may appear to split slightly — this is fine. Add the pre-sifted flour and baking powder mixture, then fold in gently with a rubber spatula until you have a smooth, homogeneous batter.
4
Add the rum and mix again.
5
Roughly mash the bananas with a fork, then add them to the batter. Finish by adding the Dulcey chocolate chips and the crushed pecan nuts. Fold in with a rubber spatula.
6
Pour the batter into a buttered and floured loaf tin (I personally use a baking spray — it’s much more practical).
7
Bake for approximately 1 hour. Check for doneness by inserting a knife blade into the loaf cake — it should come out clean.
Glaçage rocher Dulcey
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.5 oz) grapeseed oil
- 350 g (12.3 oz) Dulcey chocolate
- 100 g (3.5 oz) almonds (or hazelnuts or pecans)
Preparation
1
Melt the Dulcey chocolate in the microwave, then add the grape seed oil and stir with a spatula.
2
Add the crushed almonds (or another nut of your choice).
3
Leave the glaze to cool to a temperature of 36–37°C / 99°F.
4
Remove the cake from the freezer and place it on a wire rack set over a plate to catch any excess glaze.
5
Pour the glaze over the cake to cover it entirely. Scrape the top with a spatula to remove any excess glaze.
Gallery
