Banana slice does not actually consist of slices of banana as the name seems to imply. If it did, then you would be reading about how to perfectly slice a banana into circles or heart-shaped pieces for a special treat. If that’s the sort of thing you were hoping for, there are a couple of YouTube videos on how to slice your bananas into any shape that you can check out, since we’re talking about a tasty pastry here.
A banana slice is an easy-to-make and delicious dish that you’ll love to enjoy over and again. Moreover, slice banana should not take more than an hour to prepare, and that includes baking time.
Why Should You Make Banana Slice?
The slice banana recipe puts your ripe bananas to good use. If your bananas are not ripe, then you might want to put a hold on your banana slice plans—at least until those bananas ripen. And if the chef in you can’t keep your taste buds in check, then you should go buy some ripe bananas.
Banana slice tastes just as good as banana cake and banana bread. It’s the yummy, soft, moist and delicious dish that everyone wants a piece of. As a bonus attribute for the slice banana, it looks so good that even a dieter abstaining from sugar might fall into the temptation of eating a slice of this divinely soft goodness.
Ingredients
It shares the same basic ingredients as most cakes: flour, butter, milk, baking powder, eggs, nutmeg, and even icing. Yeah, you actually get to apply a layer of icing on banana slice.
A major difference with banana slices is that they feature mashed bananas as their main ingredient, which gives the slice its unique flavor. A layer of icing on your slice banana is a great way to spice up the taste.
As a package bonus, I have a few good icing choices picked out with steps on how you can go about making them. Cheers to banana slice icings!
- 1 cup of self-raising flour
- A quarter (1/4) teaspoon of soda bicarbonate
- One-third of a cup of mashed banana, that should be about 2 small bananas
- 60 grams of butter
- A quarter of a cup of milk
- Half a teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 egg (or 2 eggs if you want a denser cake)
- Half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- Half a teaspoon of nutmeg
- Half a teaspoon of sugar (preferably brown sugar, if just for the added nutritional value)
For a gluten-free banana slice, you can use gluten-free flour. You can also use a dash of vinegar, sour cream, or regular cream with a little salt and a teaspoon of vanilla essence to give your slice a richer flavor.
What Else Will be Used in Preparation?
A skewer for checking up on the cake: if the skewer comes out clean, that means your banana slice is ready to be devoured once it has cooled down.
- A slice pan: the 7 x 11 in (or 18 x 28 cm) slice pan would do justice to your banana slice.
- If you don’t have a slice pan or Lamington tin, you can always fall back on the rectangular pan that you probably do have.
Banana Slice Recipe
Now that you have completed the previous stages which have left your ingredients ready and waiting on your kitchen worktop, it’s time you knew how to make banana slice:
- First, you need to preheat your oven to 350 °F (180 °C).
- Then, grease your slice pan or Lamington tin or whatever rectangular baking dish you’ll be using.
- Sift your flour to obtain a fine, smooth flour that is free from grains.
- Also sift your other dry ingredients, including your brown or white sugar, baking powder, soda bicarbonate, nutmeg, and ground cinnamon. These should go into your sifted flour and which you can then mix in a bowl.
- In a larger bowl, cream your butter, milk, and egg together. After mixing this for a while, pour in your sifted dry ingredients and mix everything together.
- Last but not least, add your mashed bananas to the batter and mix well.
- Scoop the batter into your well-greased slice pan and spread it evenly across the pan.
- Bake your slice banana in the preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) for twenty to thirty minutes.
To check if your banana slice is ready, insert a skewer into the slice. If the skewer comes out clean then your banana slice is ready.
Your banana slice may technically be ready to eat, but come on—how much joy are you going to get from eating a slice banana without the icing? A good layer of icing on a banana slice is ethereal.
Icings to Consider for your Banana Slice
There are a number of icing options to choose from if you intend to add icing to your banana slice. I highly recommend that you weigh all your options carefully, though I’m sure you won’t regret anything you choose.
Cream cheese icing:
This icing is made from:
- 200 grams of softened cream cheese
- 80 grams of softened butter
- 125 grams of sieved icing sugar
- Half a teaspoon of vanilla essence
Beat together the softened cream cheese with the softened butter, add your vanilla essence to the mixture, and stir. Then add your icing sugar —sieved for a smooth texture—to the mixture. Stir everything until the mixture is well-combined. It should be smooth and creamy before it’s drizzled on your banana slice.
You can also add a few drops of lemon juice to your cream cheese icing, or even sprinkle some grated coconut on top.
Another optional ingredient is grated milk chocolate, which will give your banana slice cream cheese icing a chocolaty flavor and richness for your taste buds to enjoy. A bonus in adding grated milk chocolate will be the awesome look of your banana slice.
Lemon icing:
The lemon icing is another excellent icing choice for your banana slice and it only requires a few ingredients, which includes:
one tablespoon of lemon juice
- two tablespoons of desiccated (dried and shredded) coconut
- softened butter
- and of course, sifted icing sugar
In a small mixing bowl, add the softened butter along with the sifted icing sugar and combine. Add a few drops of lemon juice and stir until you obtain the desired mixture of a smooth consistency.
Then, spread the lemon icing on the banana slice, taking extra care for a neat spread. The desiccated coconut is sprinkled over the icing. Allow it to set before you devour the slice.
Passion Fruit icing:
Passion fruit icing is a favorite icing choice, especially if you want an extra fruity flavor. You’ll need:
- one and half a cup of sifted icing sugar
- one-third of a teaspoon of hot water
- one passion fruit pulp
- 20 grams of butter
- Sift your icing sugar into a bowl.
- In the small bowl, stir in the butter and passion fruit pulp.
- Add the hot water into the bowl to obtain a good spreading consistency, if necessary.
- Spread the passion fruit icing over the banana slice.
- Allow the icing to set before serving.
Muesli topping:
This is not an icing, but since this section is about things that can go on top of your banana slice, the muesli topping will work just fine.
Muesli is Swiss in origin. It’s a breakfast cereal that is made from rolled oats, nuts, and fruits. The muesli topping is baked along with the banana slice.
Sprinkle the muesli on the banana slice mixture and allow it to bake for 20 to 30 minutes.
Adding Chocolate to Banana Slice
While chocolate flavor can be bestowed upon your soft, yummy banana slice by sprinkling grated chocolate over your cream cheese icing, there’s also an option of making a banana slice with chocolate as an ingredient – this is known as the banana chocolate slice.
To make a banana chocolate slice, you will need about 30 grams of cocoa powder in addition to the list of ingredients provided above for your banana slice. The recipe is very similar to the banana slice recipe. However, I would rather you refer to the recipe below for banana chocolate slice which has some small modifications, rather than mixing cocoa powder into the one above.
Recipe:
First, preheat your oven to 350 °F (180 °C).
- Then, grease your slice pan or lamington tin or the baking dish you will be using.
- Sift your flour to obtain a fine, smooth consistency, free from grains.
- Also sift your other dry ingredients into a bowl, including your brown or white sugar, baking powder, soda bicarbonate, nutmeg, and ground cinnamon. Mix these in a bowl with your sifted flour.
- In a larger bowl, cream your butter, milk, and egg together. After mixing this for a while, pour in your sifted dry powdery ingredients and mix everything together.
- Add your mashed bananas to the batter and mix well.
- Divide your batter into two equal halves. Mix the cocoa powder in one half of the batter and stir well.
- Scoop the batter containing the cocoa powder into your slice pan. Spread the batter evenly before spreading the other half of the batter on top.
- Bake your chocolate banana slice in the preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) for twenty to thirty minutes. Use a skewer to test if it’s ready.
Now that you know how to spice up your banana slice with chocolate, it’s time to go do some baking!
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years of cooking, it’s that a good meal can really brighten your mood. No one eats a banana with a frown—bananas are actually known to have a positive effect on our moods. With your banana slices, you can rest assured that this effect still holds true. Enjoy your yummy, soft, and moist banana slice!