Banana, Maple and Pecan Cake

Step 01

Heat the oven to 170C fan/gas 5. Grease 3 x 20cm round cake tins with oil and line with baking paper. Put the 200g pecans in an oven dish in a single layer and toast for 10 minutes, then remove, allow to cool and roughly chop for the cake batter.

Step 02

For the candied pecans, toast the 100g pecans in a dry pan over a high heat for a few minutes until they release their aroma, then scatter the 50g sugar over them. Turn the nuts over in the sugar repeatedly with a wooden spoon until the sugar melts and turns amber. Remove from the heat, scatter over a sheet of baking paper to cool, then break apart any that have stuck together.

Step 03

In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Add the oil, sugar, maple syrup, eggs and yogurt and mix well. Mix both flours with the bicarb in a separate bowl, add to the wet ingredients and gently mix until there are no dry patches left. Fold in the toasted pecans, then divide the batter between the tins.

Step 04

Level the tops with a spatula, then bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 05

To make the buttercream, put the egg whites and 250g sugar in a bowl set over a pan of boiling water, ensuring the bowl isn't touching the water. Whisk constantly until the mixture reads 72C on a thermometer and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and whisk with an electric whisk until stiff peaks form. Continue whisking while gradually adding the maple syrup, then whisk at a low speed until the bowl is no longer warm to the touch.

Step 06

Gradually add the butter in chunks while mixing at a medium-high speed. The mixture will get loose and wet, then turn clumpy, but keep going until it becomes light and velvety, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a piping bag.

Step 07

To assemble, pipe a small amount of buttercream on the base of your serving plate and put a sponge on it to secure. Pipe neat peaks of buttercream all over the sponge, then gently put the second sponge on top. Add another layer of buttercream peaks and top with the final sponge. Pipe the remaining buttercream in a ring on top, then generously heap the candied pecans in the middle.