A Jamie Oliver recipe – this cake has been around for ages.  It’s gorgeous and very easy to make. I wish I had taken a picture when I cut the cake because it looked fabulous – I will be making this again so watch this space.

Ingredients – Cake

• 250 ml olive oil plus extra for greasing
• 350g self-raising flour
• 1 level tsp of ground cinnamon
• 350g golden caster sugar
• 4 medium very ripe bananas
• 1 x 425g  tin of pineapple chunks
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 50g pecans
• pinch salt

Ingredients – Icing

• 400g icing sugar
• 150g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• 200g cream cheese

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180 deg C. Grease and line two 23 cm cake tins.  
• Sift the flour and cinnamon in a bowl, add sugar and large pinch of salt.  
• Peel the bananas and mash them with a fork in another bowl.
• Drain and finely chop the pineapple, add to bananas with oil, eggs and vanilla extract.
• Mix until combined and fold into dry ingredients until smooth.
• Finely chop pecans and gently fold in, and divide batter between two tins
• Bake for 35 – 40 mins or until risen and golden brown. Run a knife around edge of tins, then leave to cool for 10 mins before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
• Sift icing sugar into a bowl, add butter and beat until pale and creamy. 
• Add cream cheese, finely grate zest of 1 lime and a little squeeze of juice, then beat until just smooth.  Important that you don’t over beat this mixture.
• To assemble the cake, place one sponge on a cake stand, and spread with half the icing.  Top with the other sponge, spread over the rest of the icing, then grate  over the zest of the remaining lime. Scatter with chopped pecans.

Note: Jame Oliver did make a pecan brittle topping which he sprinkled over the icing. I didn’t add that step because I sprinkled chopped pecans. When eventually I go down the path of making the brittle- I will add it.