Skip to main content

TOKYO BANANA CAKE

Tokyo Banana cake is a very popular Japanese sweet. This soft-sponged snack, shaped like a banana with a fragrant inner cream, is considered one of the top 10 Japanese snacks to get from Tokyo. Though fluffy and cute looking, the ones we had in Japan were a tad too sweet for my liking. So I thought, "How about I try making a not-so-sweet version myself?" Then my LO could try it too since she loves bananas. I started digging and found this recipe online, but I have significantly cut down on the amount of sugar used and omitted it in the banana custard cream filling. The sponge cake was originally baked in one single pan and then cut into two 0.2-inch slices when done. I've tried twice and failed to slice it smoothly right across the middle (Maybe my baking/cutting skill sucked... sob sob), so I baked using 2 separate pans.


My not-so-sweet Tokyo Banana cake. LO liked them too :D

Ingredients:


For the banana custard cream:

  • 50g banana, mashed
  • 1/2 tbsp corn starch
  • 1/2 egg 
  • 75ml fresh milk
*This amount is for more than 8 cakes.

  1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl til well combined. 
  2. Strain the mixture through a sieve into a saucepan. Stir constantly on low fire. Stop the heat when the cream starts to thicken and continue stirring til well mixed with the remaining heat. Leave to cool completely.
  3. Transfer the cream into a pastry bag and chill in the fridge.

For the sponge cake (Makes 8):

  • 35g cake flour
  • 25g castor sugar
  • 20g fresh milk, at room temperature
  • 2 eggs

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line two 8-inch square cake pan with baking paper.
  2. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar with a whisk. Place the bowl over a pan of hot water. Melt sugar and warm the mixture to about 40°C.
  3. Beat the egg mixture with an electric mixer on high speed for about 5 mins and then turn to low speed for another 2 mins.
  4. Sift in cake flour. Fold with spatula for about 10 times.
  5. Add in milk and fold for about 50 times. 
    Add milk and fold.
  6. Divide and pour batter evenly into the 2 prepared pans.
  7. Drop the pans lightly on the counter to get rid of the air bubbles.
  8. Bake in preheated oven for about 8-9 mins or til fully cooked.
  9. Remove from oven and drop the pans lightly on the counter to prevent shrinking. Place on wire rack to cool.

Combine the 2:

  1. Cut both sponge cakes into 4 squares. 
    Cut into 4 squares
  2. Place the cake on plastic wrap with brown side up. Pipe out the banana custard cream in the middle, roll and twist the ends like a candy. 
    Roll and twist the ends like candy.
  3. Best served chilled.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

YACON SOUP WITH CORN AND CARROT

Was shopping at the usual supermarket recently when I saw a lady promoting something which, from far, looked like sweet potatoes to me. I didn't pay attention to her til she called out to me and handed me a piece to sample. She was promoting organic yacons, not sweet potato. The moment I put it into my mouth, I remembered eating this looong time ago, but because I seldom see it in the supermarkets, I had totally forgotten about such a thing.  The yacon is a traditionally grown for its crisp, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots. Though the root looks like a   sweet potato, the taste and texture are completely different. Its crispy texture, juiciness and mildly sweet taste makes it somewhat similar to water chestnut or snow pear. It can be eaten raw or cook. It is said that yacon  is very high in fiber and low in calories which makes it a healthy and nutritious snack.   Some of the health benefits of yacon include its ability to regulate blood sugar ...

CHINESE ARROWROOT SOUP WITH PORK BONES

This is the simple version of the Chinese arrowroot soup (Also known as 粉葛湯 'Fun Kot Tong' in Cantonese). Our family love drinking this soup. It is tasty and cooking it with pork bones and dried squid makes it sweet and refreshing. Some people who like boiling arrowroot together with lotus roots or peanuts, and my mother-in-law usually boils it on its own and drink as 'cooling' tea. Naturally sweet and tasty. If you don't like seafood, you can choose to omit the dried squid. This is how the Chinese arrowroot looks like.  The arrowroot is a type of root plant similar to taro, potato or tapioca. However, it is harder in texture and incredibly starchy. When it is cut up, it has patterns that looks like the ages of a tree trunk. It is usually made into powder and used as thicken agent in cooking. The arrowroot is high in protein and fiber which is very beneficial to our body. Ingredients: 1 medium-sized Chinese arrowroot (Approx 700g) 10 red dates, ...

APPLE SOUP WITH BLACK FUNGUS AND RED DATES

I realized we women often busy ourselves taking care of family members and at times end up neglecting our own health. Besides handling tons of household chores, mothers and housewives must allocate time for themselves to relax, meet up with friends, or to cook nutritious soup for themselves! I came across this special soup recipe for women and would like to share all the other women out there. Black fungus reduces fat. Apple promotes indigestion. Dried tangerine peel strengthens spleen. This soup is suitable for mothers who often finish leftover foods so that they aren't wasted as it can help get rid of excess fats that are the result of over-eating. Ingredients: (Serves 1 - Me! lol) 1 piece of black fungus 2 apples 5 red dates lean meat or pork bones, approx 200g 1 piece of dried tangerine peel Adequate water Rinse red dates and remove pits. Soak dried tangerine peel until soft and remove white pith. Rinse apples, remove cores and cut them into pieces. Scald...