I am beyond excited to share with you a secret that I’ve been holding on to for more than a year. I’ve been missing on and off from this space and now I can reveal to you what I’ve been really upto. I wrote a cookbook! It’s really emotional not only because I completed 10 years of my blogging and baking journey this year but also because this book is the a great testament that one can achieve anything when they set their heart upon it.

When I moved to Australia, my twin boys were toddlers, they were my priority. We could only carry so much and left behind a lifetime of belongings behind in our home country, India. The only baking pan I carried with me changed my life. In the first few months in a new country I baked to survive the lonliness and the exhaustion using that pan. My one pan cakes became a signature of my blog. And so there was no better subject to write on than something that makes me happy every single day and has delighted many of my followers based on the love and feedback I have received over the years.

A simple, beautiful one layered cake is more diverse than you can imagine. Drizzle them with syrups, frost them, glaze them, booze them up, decorate them with a variety of ingredients, top them with interesting combinations of crumbles, poached fruit or flowers. The sky is the limit! This book consistes of 60 recipes including cakes, cheesecakes, bavarians, loaf cakes, and dessert accessories. There is a chapter on botanicals – herbs and flowers that is my very favourite besides an entire chapter dedicated to alcohol based cakes. If you love cocktails, you will love my cake-tails (cocktails in cake form). There is a lot more but I will share them in the next few weeks.

My cookbook, Elegant One-Pan Cakes is releasing in USA and Canada on November 14th through Page Street Publishing and distributed by Macmillan publishers. You can preorder the book through my Cookbook Page here or the Cookbook option on the menubar on the top. It’s available on Amazon and most onilne bookstores and will be on display in stores on November 14th . It’s due to release in the UK and Australia a few weeks from then but preorders can be done now.
My friends and readers in the USA, I will rely on you to share your feedback and stories with me while I wait to view the action in person In Australia.

This book is truly a labour of love and I am confident that you will feel the love when you browse through pages and make these cakes for your loved ones.

How many banana bread/cake recipes do you think exist in the world? A few thousands, a million perhaps! In fact people can be quite senstive to the topic of banana bread because everyone thinks they have the best one, the moistest, easiest and definitely the most reliable one under their belt. My easy banana cake is simple and delicious but the reason I wanted to share is because the addition of one ingredient, tahini, can make such a lovely difference to a recipe.

If you haven’t tried out tahini before this, it’s nothing but ground, hulled sesame seeds. The flavour is unique and nutty. If you are avoiding nuts for any reason in a recipe, a great alternative is tahini. Since it’s a paste and comes in jars, it’s as simple as using a spoon to take it out like peanut butter or Nutella and it’s also healthy.

This easy banana cake has tahini mixed in the cake batter as well as the frosting. A cream cheese frosting is probably the most heavenly frosting that can be added to a banana bread or cake. With the inclusion of tahini, it’s unforgettable. You will want to eat it by the spoon, trust me!

I decorated the cake with banana chips that I bought from my local supermarket. They add colour and a nice crunch to the cake. By all means, make your own banana chips if you can at home. I wanted to keep it really simple.

If you love banana breads, you will love this Banana Raspberry bread or this Banana and Date Cake

Easy Banana Cake with Tahini Frosting
Makes a 7 inch (18 cm) round cake

2/3 cup (150g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (132 g) granulated/caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed banana (about 2 large, ripe bananas)
2 tbsp hulled tahini
1 & 2/3 cups (208 g) self-raising flour, sifted
1/3 cup (80 ml) milk
Banana chips (store bought), to decorate

Tahini Cream Cheese frosting
4 oz (115 g) cream cheese (not low-fat), at room temperature
¼ cup (57 g/½ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¼ cups (150 g) powdered sugar
1 tbsp tahini

Make the cake : Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan forced) or 350 °F. Grease the base and sides of a 7 inch round pan and line the base with baking paper.

In a large bowl, Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Beat in the eggs until combined. Beat in the banana and tahini until well combined. Fold in the flour, then the milk using a large metal spoon until just combined. Pour the cake mixture into the prepared pan.

Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of cake comes out clean. Set aside for 10 minutes, then loosen the edges using a blunt knife. Transfer the cake onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Make the tahini cream cheese frosting : In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth, about 2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that the mixture is evenly mixed. Beat in the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until well incorporated. Add the tahini. Mix until combined.

Assemble : Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, using an open star tip and a piping bag, pipe onto the top of the cake. Decorate with banana chips and sugar flowers. Enjoy!