Food

Banh Chuoi Nuong (Vietnamese Banana Cake) Recipe

Essentially a baked banana bread pudding that's especially easy and forgiving.
vietnamese-banana-cake-recipe
Photo by Farideh Sadeghin

Serves 8
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing
8 bananas, sliced (about 2 pounds 12 ounces|1.3 kilograms)
½ cup|136 grams granulated sugar, plus more for topping
1 tablespoon red wine (can replace with vinegar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅔ cup|155 ml whole milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs
1 (14-ounce|397-gram) can sweetened condensed milk
10 ounces|300 grams stale bread (ANY bread works; baguette is traditional, sourdough makes it a bit tangy, but even white sliced bread works), torn into 1-inch pieces

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9-inch round or square cake pan with butter and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, toss the bananas with 1 tablespoon of the sugar, the red wine, and vanilla and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter with the remaining sugar, the milk, flour, salt, eggs, and sweetened condensed milk. Add the bread and toss to combine, then toss in almost all of the bananas. Leave around 20 slices or so separate to decorate the top with. Set aside for 15 minutes.
  4. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan and decorate the top with the remaining bananas. Sprinkle evenly with sugar and bake until golden on top, about 1 hour. Cool slightly, then serve. This is also delicious served cold the following day.

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