Banoffee Shortcake: Upside Down and The Better For It
You’ve probably heard of banoffee pie, but have you tried banoffee shortcake? It’s delicious and so easy to prepare. The shortcake is made with white chocolate and it’s served upside-down with banana and toffee very much to the fore.
We have come this month to the final letter in the alphabet for Alpha Bakes and it is U. Upside-down cakes were the obvious choice, but I wanted to do something a bit different. With all the on-going and distressing news about Ukraine recently, my first though was to make a Ukrainian chocolate cake. However, although there is a fantastic bake called Kiev Cake, it was a little complicated and I didn’t think I’d be able to fit it in.
So I procrastinated. I then tried finding a chocolate bake from Uruguay. I found some amazing biscuits called Alfajores. I’ve bookmarked those for another time. But again they were a little more involved than I was looking for. So I procrastinated some more. I tried Uganda but came up with nothing. The result of all this procrastination is a very last minute bake on the final day and it is, after all that, an upside-down cake.
Upside-down White Chocolate Banoffee Shortcake
Some time ago I bookmarked a recipe for upside-down banoffee shortcake from Dashing Dom over at Belleau Kitchen. This nice simple recipe, originally from Nigel Slater, had caught my attention because it was shortcake, not cake.
Shortcake is a cross between a biscuit and a cake, so it has a slightly crustier texture. It’s most often served with strawberries and cream. With only hours to go before the deadline and visitors shortly expected, I felt now was the time to try this recipe out.
I changed things around a little, because I always do. White chocolate is one of my favourite baking ingredients so I often substitute it for some of the butter and sugar. I feel it gives an added quality of richness and texture and cocoa butter is meant to be good for us too. There was also a clementine lurking in the fruit bowl and it wasn’t at it’s best. So I decided to add its juice to the toffee part of the bake.
This banoffee shortcake is very different to banoffee pie. Both are delicious and I’d actually find it hard to choose between them. But the shortcake is a lot easier to make.
All I can say is that Dom is a very wicked man. I really should ignore his suggestions. Most of the banoffee shortbread disappeared almost immediately. Even my mother had a rare second slice.
It went surprisingly well with the Earl Grey tea that accompanied it. Maybe it was the citrussy clementine juice that recognised its cousin bergamot. The juice gave a certain freshness to a very naughty, but very nice shortcake recipe. I can, ahem, also attest that the shortcake is equally good cold and that banana flavoured toffee is something I’d like to have again.
Other Upside-Down Recipes You Might Like
- Chocolate, pear & cardamom upside-down cake
- Cranberry upside-down cake with orange
- Gooseberry upside-down cake with honey
- Ground cherry & chocolate upside-down cake
- Pineapple chocolate upside-down cake
- Plum upside-down cake flavoured with rose
- Upside-down apple cake
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this recipe for banoffee shortcake, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below or via social media. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?
If you’d like more banana recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.
Choclette x
Banoffee Shortcake. PIN IT.
Banoffee Shortcake – The Recipe
Banoffee Shortcake
Ingredients
Toffee Sauce
- 50 g salted butter
- 120 g golden caster sugar (I used cardamom sugar)
- 1 clementine or use half an orange – juiced
- 2 medium bananas
Shortcake
- 50 g white chocolate
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 50 g golden caster sugar (I used cardamom sugar)
- 1 large egg (I used a duck egg)
- 140 g flour half wholemeal, half plain
Instructions
Toffee Sauce
- Melt the butter in a medium sized pan over low heat.50 g salted butter
- Add the sugar and the clementine juice.120 g golden caster sugar, 1 clementine
- Leave to bubble over a low heat for about ten minutes or until the sugar has melted and the toffee sauce is thick.
- Leave to cool slightly, then pour into the base of a lightly buttered 8″ (20cm) round silicone mould or suitable tin.
- Slice the bananas and layer over the toffee sauce.2 medium bananas
Shortcake
- Melt the white chocolate in a large bowl over hot, but not boiling, water.50 g white chocolate
- Add the butter and leave to soften a little.50 g unsalted butter, 50 g golden caster sugar
- Remove from the heat. Add the sugar and then cream (beat) the mix until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg.1 large egg
- Sift in the flour and stir until everything is just about mixed together.140 g flour
- Spoon onto the bananas, smoothing out to ensure a more or less even layer over the top.
- Bake at 180℃ (350℉, Gas 4) for 20 minutes.
- Leave to cool for five minutes, then turn out onto a plate and serve straight away whilst warm.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Sharing
So, I have a U for Upside-down cake after all, but at least it’s a shortcake not just any old cake 😉 Ros of The More Than Occasional Baker and Caroline Makes have led us a merry dance over the last couple of years. We don’t know what is going to happen to Alpha Bakes now all of the letters have been used up, but I’m hoping it won’t have reached it’s final conclusion.
I’ve also submitted this gorgeous pudding to Bookmarked Recipes. It’s hosted by the ever industrious Jac of Tinned Tomatoes.
WHAT CREAM? Add the sugar and cream until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg.
WHAT CREAM? CREAM IS NOT MENTION IN THE INGREDIENTS. CONFUSED
Sorry not to have got back to you before now, I had a bit of an emergency and haven’t been able to get to the blog for a couple of days. Apologies for the confusion. There is no cream in the recipe. Creaming is the process of beating sugar and butter together and in this case the white chocolate too. I will amend the recipe to make it less confusing – hopefully!
ooh, I like this idea! I’m not sure I’ve ever made anything other than banana bread or a simple dessert but the bananas look so deliciously sticky, it’s now on my list!
That looks so good! Love bananas.
Oh that looks to die for Choclette! That’s one very special, very wicked, Upside Down Pud.
Wow! Very tempting cake, I’m a big fan of bananas in cakes (not solo!) so it would be a big hit!
very gorgeous, very tempting…just as well I seldom bake!!!
I’m noting the “seldom bake” rather than “can’t bake” 😉
Sounds like a yummy twist on a pineapple upside down cake! And it looks delicious too!
Thanks April – it’s definitely different.
I love banoffee anything and this shortcake is going straight to my bookmarked list! I am impressed with all your other ideas for U … I didn’t get further than upside down cake! I’ve not been here in a while and I like the new layout. Will try to visit more often but things have been a bit hectic lately. Thanks for your continued support of AlphaBakes and don’t worry it will still continue with something exciting for April to kick off round two!
Haha Ros, my U ideas didn’t really get me anywhere. Glad you like the blog and glad we won’t be losing AB 🙂
What a sensational pud, I love bananas and this just sounds sublime:-)
Thanks Camilla, anyone who loves bananas and has a sweet tooth, will adore this 🙂
How come I didn’t meet this cake yesterday?! it looks heavenly choclette!
Janie x
Oops!
What a FABULOUS recipe Choclette and such enticing photos too! LOVE it, and anything that has banoffee in it has my name all over it as I LOVE that combo!
Thanks Karen, but I think Nigel gets the credit for this and then Dom for drawing my attention to it. My additions obviously make it better though 😉
You had me at white chocolate. How lush looking. I would swap my porridge for a bite of this.
Ah your poor porridge, that isn’t a fair comparison – have your porridge and save this for tea 🙂
That looks absolutely delicious!
Thank you Aunty Bee
Wow what a lovely idea! I do love your rake on banoffee here Choclette
Thanks Nazima, it’s a very tasty one 🙂
I agree about the white choc in baking – it can work really well. I love the sound of this.
So pleased you said that Phil – you are my baking guru 😉
White chocolate and bananas…they are my husband’s top favourites. This is a perfect dessert for him.
Ahh, but will you make it for him Angie?
Looks interesting Choclette. White chocolate, bananas and cardamom. I like the way you experiment with chocolate and how to put interesting flavours together. This is a lovely creation like all your other cakes!Yummy!
Thank you Alida. I generally find that cardamom goes well with fruit and using infused sugar gives a milder flavour anyway. I would probably have used vanilla in this instance if I hadn’t added a clementine.
I never heard of a Kiev cake, if anything, I’d associate the Ukrainian desserts with apple & cherry cakes as well as ginger cookies. Your cake looks splendid, I could happily eat a slice or two.
That’s interesting Galina, I wonder how common Kiev cake is? Quite a few recipes came up for it when I was hunting around the net. Lots of apple ones too.
That looks delicious. Bananas and toffee are a match made in heaven
Well put Tina 🙂
This looks so amazing! I love all of the flavors in it, especially the bit of cardamom you threw in. I’m sure it gives a nice warmth to the cake. I definitely want to try this soon!
I have a jar of cardamom sugar permanently on the go – just sugar with a handful of cardamom pods, then keep topping up the sugar.
Great idea! Love the twist on the usual pineapple!
Thanks Tina – yes pineapple was a classic bake when I was growing up, not that my mother ever made it.
This sounds amazing!
Thanks Kate
I love banana desserts! This one sounds great.
Thanks Dannii. I didn’t used to be that fond of them, but I’ve now been converted.
woot woot woot… now THIS is one HOT mamma!… I feel lucky because I know how bloody good this is but i’m still jealous I don’t have a slice of it right by me today… looks so pretty too… x
Yay Dom, even my mamma thought it was one hot mamma 😀 Thanks for another fabulous recipe idea.
Ooh you had me at the title !!
Haha Cheryl, indeed. Banoffee is a bit of a crowd pleaser 🙂
Wow! What a gorgeous sugary glaze on those bananas … ah, what an upside down cake! Stellar!
Thank you Susan, the toffee glaze hardened as the cake cooled and became a little chewy, which was equally nice.
Look at your new blog! With your actual face on it! Hurrah!
Haha – that made me laugh Alicia. Coming out can be a terrible thing 😉
Ha! I wonder how many upside down cakes will be on offer this month? This one looks lovely. Haven’t used banana in an upside-down before. Definitely will now!!
I suspect we may be seeing quite a few Kate. Bananas are not something I would have thought of before either, but once tried …
Looks gorgeous! Have never had shortcake, but you are tempting me to try some. Love the new look!
Thanks Janine. Strangely I’ve never been a big fan of shortcake, but I am now a big fan of upside down shortcake 🙂
This sounds too good to be true. Loving the new blog look too!
Thank you Caroline – it’s certainly too good to make very often 😉
It sounds delicious and I love the idea of using shortcake in an upside down cake.
Thanks Corina, it’s quite different to cake and we really liked it.
For a last minute recipe this sounds pretty delicious!
Oh it really was Jo – all gone now!
Well done for coming up with something different for an upside down bake! This certainly does look delicous and I wanted to taste it as soon as I saw the preview picture!
Thanks Laura. It certainly makes a change from banana bread, but I’d say it was more of a dessert than a cake.