Caramelised Banana Chiffon Cake

This is a very soft, moist and fluffy chiffon cake which is full of banana flavour.  The addition of gula melaka (or palm sugar) gives the cake a deeper colour and a beautiful aroma.  If you have over-ripe bananas sitting in your fruit bowl, why not give this recipe a try?  You will love it!

Recipe adapted from:  Ellena Guan's Caramelised Banana Chiffon Cake 

Egg size:  55g each

Pan:  20cm tube pan 

Ingredients:

(A)
80g plain flour
15g rice flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

(B)
6 egg whites
50g caster sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

(C)
150g bananas
40g gula melaka, grated
5g unsalted butter

(D)
6 egg yolks
45g rice bran oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• Preheat oven to 155°C.
• Sift flours and salt together.  Set aside.
• In a heavy based saucepan, caramelised gula melaka together with butter on low heat.  Then pour it over the bananas and mashed it together.  Set aside.
• In a clean mixing bowl, beat egg whites until frothy.  Add in cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form.  Gradually add in sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
• In another mixing bowl, (using the same beater) beat egg yolks until creamy. Whisk in oil, vanilla extract and mashed bananas. Next, add in flour mixture and whisk until combined.
• Lighten the batter with one third of the meringue using a balloon whisk. Then pour all the batter into the meringue and fold gently.
• Pour batter into the tube pan from a height to help eliminate large air bubbles. Next, tap the pan on the bench top and then use a chopstick to go round the pan a few times to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter. 
• Bake the cake for about 1 hour 30 minutes or until cooked. (Every oven is different, so adjust the time and temperature accordingly).
• Remove cake from the oven and invert the pan immediately. Cool the cake completely before removing it from the pan.