Banana Ferrero Bundt Cake

I actually made this cake a few weeks back but I think it's an appropriate tribute to Michele Ferrero who died age 89 on 14th February. He is the creator of Nutella and Ferrero Rocher chocolates amongst other confectionary delights. This cake actually came about by chance as I had a lot of Ferrero Rocher chocolates left after baking my Nutella Ferrero Rocher brownies. I looked around my kitchen to see what else I could use and spied the very brown bananas. I also found a tub of creme fraiche in my fridge which I bought for a recipe but never got round to using it. I decided to incorporate everything into a cake and used my bundt tin to make it look special. I was going to melt some Nutella to drizzle on top but I was in too much of a hurry.

The cake turned out beautifully as it had a lovely banana flavour with a good texture. It kept well for a few days and did not dry out mainly due to the creme fraiche in the cake. It felt like a treasure hunt in your mouth as you may or may not get the taste of Ferrero in each bite.

I'm sending this to the No Waste Food Challenge hosted by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary. As mentioned, I used up lots of leftovers for this cake.

I'm also sharing this with Recipe of the Week hosted by Emily from A Mummy Too

 adding creme fraiche 

 adding chopped ferrero chocolates 

 ready to go in the oven 

Note: I used double this recipe to fill my large bundt tin and had some batter leftover to make a small round cake
You can easily make a 18cm round cake with this recipe.

Ingredients 
225g self-raising flour
225g light muscovado sugar
3 large eggs
80ml sunflower oil
2 ripe bananas
150ml creme fraiche

12 Ferrero Rocher chocolates, cut in half 

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• In a large bowl, mix the flour and sugar.
• Add in the eggs and sunflower oil and mix well.
• Add the bananas in chunks and the creme fraiche.
• Stir a few times then add in the chopped Ferrero Rocher chocolates.
• Pour into a large bundt tin and bake for about 45-50 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Summer Berry Cake

I baked this cake last week for a birthday at work. It was so good I made the same cake again at the weekend and it's all gone! It's a vanilla sponge cake filled with fresh berries topped with creme fraiche and more fresh berries. The birthday girl wanted something with fresh fruit so I loaded the cake with lots of it! I used fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.  The sponge was really light and moist and the vanilla flavour really lifts the fruits. Everyone enjoyed the creme fraiche topping which was flavoured with ground vanilla beans as it was lighter than cream and helped cut through the sweetness of the cake and fruit. 

As fresh berries are still in season, I'm entering this to Simple and in Season hosted this month by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary for Ren from RenBehan.com.

I'm also sending this to Celebration Cakes & Bakes hosted by Mummy Makes Cakes as this was made for a birthday celebration and it's perfect for any celebration. 

And to Bake of the Week run by Casa Costello which is guest hosted by Kirsty from Hijacked By Twins. 

And to Recipe of the Week hosted by Emily from A Mummy Too.

I think it will also fit in with with month's Tea Time Treats hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage and co hosted by Jane from Hedgecombers. The theme this month is Picnic Food and Picnic Treats. When I think of picnics, I think of summer and this cake definitely screams summer! 

 adding vanilla bean paste and vanilla extract 

 toss the berries in flour 

 press a few fresh berries on top

 ground vanilla beans in the creme fraiche

 fresh from the oven - you can clearly see the berries

 add a layer or sweetened vanilla creme fraiche

 top with fresh summer berries

 add a sprinkling of vanilla dusting sugar 

 I love how you can still see the berries inside the sponge 

I used my usual weigh your egg method for the sponge - use the same weight for your butter, sugar and flour

For the cake

4 large eggs = 266g in weight 

266g butter

266g caster sugar

266g self raising flour

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

60mls milk

366g fresh summer berries tossed in 2 tablespoons of flour

For the topping

300mls creme fraiche

ground vanilla beans

2 tablespoons icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

selection of fresh berries

• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. 
• Add in the eggs, one at at time, mixing well between each addition. 
• Add in the vanilla bean paste and vanilla extract.
• Add in the flour and then the milk. 
• Toss the berries in 2 tablespoons of flour and stir them into the cake mixture by hand. Set aside a small handful of berries. 
• Pour the batter into a 23cm cake tin. Press the reserved berries into the cake before baking. 
• Bake for approximately 45 - 50 minutes or until it's golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. It's a large cake so may even need an hour to cook!
• Allow the cake to cool completely before decorating. 
• Use a vanilla bean grinder to grind vanilla beans into the creme fraiche. 
• Add in 2 tablespoons of icing sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
• Spread the creme fraiche on top of the cake.
• Pile lots of fresh berries on top. 
• Sprinkle with vanilla dusting sugar or plain icing sugar.