In the middle of rolling up the carpet of our bedroom 
and before I began to write my novel for the day,(which I am very excited about and started writing about 3 weeks ago, in fact at about the same time as I started this blog!) I decided to bake a banana cake to have something in the house for the school lunches. I have eaten and made Banana cake my whole life. I thought it only appropriate to add this recipe. The version I am giving you is from a cook book I bought at Waipu Museum in Northland called Waipu “Birdgrove” Cookbook 100 years. It is full of old recipes from Nanette Cains Grandmother’s Cook Book. This cake is called Betty’s Banana Cake.
It is one of the best banana cake recipes I have tried. It brings me back to the whole concept of tried and true, of times gone by and how sticking to the old and familiar is so important. I have learnt to live my life to the motto “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” This cake certainly doesn’t need fixing!
Our renovation has taken a turn and my husband in ripping off the walls of our bedroom, has discovered beautiful old-fashioned wallpaper underneath,
attached to hessian laid on top of native rimu and matai timber planks. Our house was build in 1924, solid as a rock, constructed in the old way, a way that has stood the test of time.
It is these old recipes too, which stand the test of time.
I have converted the measurements which were in lbs and cups, to grams.
Betty’s Banana cake
- 3 bananas
- 1 large egg
- I 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1/2 lb sugar (226.795g!!!)
- 1/4 lb butter (115g)
- 1 1/2 cups flour (350g)
- 1 teaspoon of soda dissolved in at least 2 tablespoons milk
Beat butter and sugar together. 
Add beaten egg then dry ingredients. 
Lastly add bananas (squashed) then soda and milk.
Bake in a moderate oven for 30-45 minutes.
Ice with Butter Icing:
- 100g icing sugar
- 40g soft butter
- 1 tablespoon cocoa
- a dash of water
Mix all together and smooth over the cake.
Tradition and old ways have their place 
and should be valued for what they were and enjoyed for what they are.
