Keke Faʻi (Sāmoan Banana Cake)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •9-by-13-inch metal baking pan
• •Skewer or chopstick for making shallow holes
• •Wire rack for resting the cake

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the pan

   Heat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan and line the bottom with parchment if you want clean lifting later. This is a family cake, so the plain pan is plenty. No need make it precious.

2. 2

   Mash the faʻi

   Peel the very ripe faʻi and mash them with a fork until soft and loose, with a few small lumps left. Measure about 1 1/2 cups. The smell should be deep and sweet, almost honeyed, because that ripe fruit is carrying the cake.

   If the bananas are only yellow and firm, give them a day or two. The dark freckles are sweetness, not spoilage.
3. 3

   Mix the dry

   Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon if you're using it. Break up any little pockets of soda now, because nobody wants that bitter bite in the middle of a birthday square.

4. 4

   Make the wet

   In a larger bowl, whisk the brown sugar with the oil or cooled melted butter until glossy and sandy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then whisk in the coconut cream and vanilla. Fold in the mashed faʻi until the bowl smells like ripe fruit and coconut.

5. 5

   Fold the batter

   Tip the dry ingredients into the wet and fold gently until no dry streaks remain. Stop there. If you stir hard now, the flour tightens and the cake goes heavy. No blame the keke. You beat it too long.

   A few banana lumps are good. They bake into soft pockets and keep the crumb tender.
6. 6

   Bake it golden

   Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth it to the corners. Bake 32 to 38 minutes, until the top is honey-brown, the center springs back under a light finger, and a skewer comes out with moist crumbs instead of wet batter. The edges should just begin to pull from the pan.

7. 7

   Brush with coconut

   While the cake finishes baking, warm the extra coconut cream with the brown sugar and pinch of salt just until the sugar melts. When the cake comes out, make shallow holes across the top with a skewer and spoon or brush the coconut finish over it. It should sink in and leave a soft sheen, not sit on top like frosting.

   If your coconut cream is very thick, warm it just enough to loosen. Boiling makes it split and taste flat.
8. 8

   Rest and share

   Let the cake rest at least 15 minutes so the crumb settles and the coconut finds its way down. Scatter toasted coconut over the top if you're using it, then cut big squares. Serve warm or room temperature, from the pan or on a wooden board, with tea, coffee, or whatever the aiga already has on the table.

Chef Tips

• •Use bananas with spotted, soft skins, even nearly black. If the fruit is still firm, the cake will taste flat no matter how much sugar you add.
• •Fresh peʻepeʻe, coconut cream squeezed from mature coconut, is beautiful here, but this is a home-oven cake and a thick can does honest work. Stir it smooth before measuring.
• •Oil keeps the cake soft for days. Melted butter gives a rounder flavor. Either one belongs, so use what your kitchen has.
• •This cake sits easily beside sapasui, roast chicken, corned beef and rice, and the rest of a birthday spread. Keeper, not gatekeeper. The islands eat deep food and everyday food at the same table.
• •Once brushed with coconut cream, keep leftovers covered at room temperature for the day, then refrigerate. Warm a square gently or eat it cold with tea.

Advance Preparation

• •Bake the cake one day ahead and keep it covered; the banana and coconut settle in and the crumb stays moist.
• •Mashed ripe bananas freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw and drain off any watery liquid before measuring.
• •Toast the shredded coconut up to 3 days ahead and keep it airtight so it stays crisp.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 90g)