Banana Cake Recipe

This classic moist banana cake recipe brings out the best in ripe bananas, delivering a soft, aromatic slice that pairs wonderfully with your morning coffee or afternoon tea.

Whether you need a quick homemade bake or want to make good use of extra ripe fruit, this quick banana loaf comes together effortlessly in one bowl to nourish your family with wholesome comfort.

I first learned to bake by making a banana cake. It’s a great starting point for anyone looking to get into baking.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Effortless prep work: Simple ingredients combine in minutes using basic kitchen tools without complicated steps.
• Incredibly soft texture: Gentle hand-mixing ensures a light, moist crumb every single time.
• Naturally rich flavour: Ripe bananas provide natural sweetness and deep, comforting bakery-style taste.

Key Tips for Success

• Use ripe bananas: Fully speckled bananas yield the most moisture and natural sweetness for your batter.
• Avoid over-mixing batter: Fold flour gently using a spoon or spatula to maintain a tender, soft crumb.
• Adjust milk quantity: Add milk gradually to achieve a smooth, workable batter consistency before baking.

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Banana Cake Recipe

(Printable recipe) By Christine’s Recipes
Course: Banana, Fruit, Bakery
Cuisine: Western
Prep time: 10 mins (plus soaking time)
Cook time: 60 mins
Yield: one baking pan, sized 11.5cmx22cmx6cm

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• 250 4 ripe bananas
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup sugar, white or brown (if you like darker colour, use brown)
• 1 egg, whisked
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup milk (or 1/2 cup, depending on the thickness of the batter)

Method :

1. Preheat oven to 175C (350F).
2. Smashed the ripe bananas in a large bowl with a spoon or process in a food processor. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to combine melted butter with the smashed bananas. Stir in sugar, whisked egg and vanilla. Add 1/4 cup of the milk first, then combine well. If the batter is too thick, add more and adjust the amount as you go.
3. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt in the mixture. Stir in sifted flour, one third at a time. No need to stir too hard, just fold and incorporate all ingredients thoroughly.
4. Transfer mixture into a greased baking pan. Bake for about 1 hour. Test with a needle. If it comes out clean, the cake is cooked through. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack. Enjoy!

Notes：

• If you feel too tired of smashing banana with a spoon, use a food processor. Just process bananas for a few seconds if you’d like to retain some texture.
• I found it’s better not to use an electric mixer for making banana cake. Use a spoon or whisk just to incorporate all ingredients together without over-stirring. The cake would be turned out really soft.

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Pandan Chiffon Cake

Looking for that iconic, bakery-style Asian chiffon cake with an ultra-airy, pillowy crumb? This classic pandan chiffon cake recipe yields an incredibly soft, cottony-soft crumb infused with the tropical fragrance of fresh pandan leaves and rich coconut milk. It is a timeless family favourite dessert that delivers light-as-air texture every single time, making it ideal for afternoon teas or weekend family gatherings.

I originally shared this Asian chiffon cake after watching a Masterchef Australia pressure test episode featuring Dan Hong's famous pandan cake. Sharing delicious food with loved ones is one of life's simplest graces, and baking a fresh, homemade chiffon cake brings warmth and joy to any table.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Cottony-soft texture: Whisked egg whites create a tender, airy structure that stays moist for days.
• Authentic tropical flavor: Freshly squeezed pandan juice combined with coconut milk offers a delightful natural aroma.
• Straightforward home baking: Simple techniques make achieving a bakery-quality tube cake completely stress-free.

Key Tips for Success

• Use grease-free utensils: Ensure your mixing bowl and beaters are completely dry and oil-free before whipping egg whites to stiff peaks.
• Fold delicate batter gently: Fold the meringue in three batches using a light hand to preserve incorporated air.
• Invert to cool: Immediately invert the ungreased tube pan right out of the oven to prevent the cake structure from collapsing.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: Why did my chiffon cake shrink or fall out of the pan?
• A: Never grease your chiffon tube pan! The batter requires an ungreased surface to climb and cling to as it expands.

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Smoky BBQ Pork Ribs (Instant Pot with Slow-Cooked Effect + Video)

Craving tender, fall-off-the-bone Smoky BBQ Pork Ribs but short on time? You don’t need to spend hours stoking a smoker or patiently watching an oven to achieve rich, slow-cooked bbq spare ribs. By using a smart pressure cooker technique finished with a quick flash in the oven, you get maximum flavor with minimal effort—making this fast pressure cooker dinner a complete game changer for weeknights and weekend gatherings alike.

Cooking with modern efficiency frees up valuable time for life's moments while keeping your kitchen cool and serene. By pairing a high-pressure braise with a brief high-heat broil, the meat locks in moisture while absorbing a deep, caramelised smoky bbq glaze. It is a wonderful way to serve up nourishing, restaurant-quality comfort food that invites family and friends to gather round with grateful hearts.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Fast & Foolproof: Cuts down cooking hours to under 45 minutes using the pressure cooker.
• Authentic Slow-Cooked Texture: Pressure cooking softens the meat to perfection before crisping under the broiler.
• Rich, Caramelised Glaze: Reducing the cooking liquid creates an insanely delicious sauce that clings to every bite.
• Stress-Free Prep: Streamlined cooking steps give you back time to spend with loved ones.

Key Tips for Success

• Peel the Membrane: Removing the paper-thin membrane from the bone side allows the rub and sauce to penetrate evenly and keeps the ribs tender.
• Deglaze for Extra Flavor: After browning the meat on the Sauté setting, use a splash of Shaoxing wine to lift up those golden caramelized bits at the bottom.
• Reduce the Sauce: Always simmer the remaining pot juices on Sauté mode to thicken it into a glossy, concentrated barbecue glaze before brushing.

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Smoky BBQ Pork Ribs Recipe

(Printable recipe) By Christine Ho
Course: Pork, Bakery
Cuisine: Western
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Yield: 3 to 4 serves

Instant Pot available at Amazon: 

• If you're interested in getting an Instant Pot, here's the info for you. I got it from Amazon (UK) as the model for sale in UK, with 220 volts, suitable for using in Australia.
• If you’re living in US or any countries with 110~120 volts electrical system, the model listed on Amazon (US) is the one to go for.

Ingredients:

• 680 gm pork spare ribs
• ½ tsp salt
• white pepper, to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 3 Tbsp Shaoxing wine
• ½ cup smoky BBQ sauce
• ½ cup water
• 1 Tbsp honey

Method:

1. Remove the membrane on the back of the spare ribs. You can use a sharp knife to slice the corner first. That makes so much easier to get started to pull the membrane up with your fingers. Check the video on this post and you'll see it's not that difficult. By removing the membrane, the pork meat will absorb the flavours easily and become tender quickly. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.
2. Prepare your Instant Pot. Press “Sauté” and heat oil until the word of “Hot” displays. Brown both sides in batches as the pot is not big enough. Put back all the pork ribs.
3. Add garlic. Sprinkle Shaoxing wine. Add smoky BBQ sauce, water and honey.
4. Close the lid with steam release handle pointed to “Sealing”. Select “Meat”, high pressure cooking for 25 minutes. Natural release for 10 minutes. Press “Cancel”. Quick release. Remove the lid. The pork ribs are already tender at this stage. Carefully transfer the pork ribs onto a baking pan lined with wire rack.
5. To prepare the sauce: Select “Sauté” and cook the sauce without a lid until thickened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Brush the pork ribs with the thickened sauce. Grill in preheated oven at 180C / 350F until lightly brown. It's done. Drizzle more sauce on the ribs when served. It's very delicious!

Notes:

• Heat your Instant Pot hot enough, then add oil to coat the bottom evenly. When you see “Hot” code displays, pan-fry the pork ribs. They shouldn't stick to the pot. You'll find some brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. No worries. The brown bits are very delicious. You can deglaze the brown bits with the Shaoxing wine and easily get up all of them.
• You can quickly reduce and thicken the sauce by using “sauté” function in a few minutes. The flavours of the sauce will be intensified.
• After high-pressure cooking, the pork ribs are tender enough. By doing one more step, broiling them in an oven with sauce on rib surface, it helps more flavours penetrate into the meat and give them a BBQ feel and look.

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Cake Wrapped in Paper (Hong Kong Cupcakes)

Cakes baked in paper are very popular in Hong Kong. You can easily get them from many bakery shops there. Armed with this recipe, you can bake some for yourself or your family at home.

If you have a chance to travel to Hong Kong, I recommend you to have a go for it. You won’t be disappointed except you buy the not-the-good ones. I guess you can’t find them anywhere else except in Hong Kong.

I used to go to an old café with my father to have afternoon tea when I was a little kid. The café was very cozy and would sell freshly baked cakes and breads around 3 to 4pm.

Although the café was not big, their cakes baked in paper (纸包蛋糕) was very popular that attracted many customers. A long queue would line up in front of the entrance of the café.

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Butter Pound Cake

This butter pound cake has a strong aroma of butter. Mind you, it's so addictively delicious. Its simplicity, without any fancy decoration, with the golden brown crust, buttery taste and rich texture, totally wins my heart.

Butter pound cake is my favourite childhood dessert. I remember how the strong aroma of butter made this traditional cake so addictive to me, feeling like never having enough of it.

Its simplicity, without any fancy decoration, with the golden brown crust, buttery taste and rich texture, totally wins my heart. You can’t stop eating after tasting the first slice. Mind you, if you’re on diet, make sure you can share with some other friends, or bring it along to any parties as finger food.

One slice of the butter pound cake, with a cup of tea or coffee, brings me enough enjoyment with no regrets.

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Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs (One-Pan Dish)

These chicken thighs were cooked with lemon, garlic and my favourite herds, rosemary and thyme. My kitchen was full of the fragrant smell, increasing the appetite of the whole family.

I’m getting to love one-pan dish more and more. It’s handy and save up energy to do cleaning up, just like one-plate dish.

The taste of one-pan dish won’t be comprised at all, still very delicious.

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Mini Blueberry Cheesecakes

Can I say everyone in parties loves cheesecakes? If not everyone, then most people are so into trying these little cute cheesecakes. I made some for a bring-a-plate family gathering, they’re gone quickly once served on table.

What I like the most about making cheesecakes is that I can make them well in advance, chill in fridge, then bring them along inside an insulated food bag. Then off I go for enjoying the party without any stress.

As I got a new kitchen toy – a 12-cup mini cheesecake pan recently, I can’t wait to try this nifty kitchen gadget. Baking cheesecakes turns out into a 20-minute-or-so matter. Then simply top the baked cheesecakes with some blueberry coulis, place one or two fresh blueberries for garnish.

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Bandit Chicken Wings (土匪雞翼)

This is a signature side dish of a popular noodle restaurant in Hong Kong, very well-known and loved by local people. Believe me, the taste of these Bandit chicken wings is wonderfully good.

I have no clue how this dish name came up. The word of “bandit” might put some people off to try. The soul of this dish is the spice, cumin, that makes all the baked chicken wings smell pleasantly and take the whole dish up a notch.

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Molten Chocolate Cakes (Easter Dessert)

My favourite part of Easter is the chocolate desserts. Molten chocolate cake, aka lava cake or chocolate fondant pudding, is very popular around the world. It is even served in high-end restaurants and is suitable for all occasions. I personally feel that the bitter taste can resemble the remembrance of the sufferings of Jesus Christ, and the sweet taste associates with the joy of the victory of His resurrection.

Back to the cake, it’s not that difficult when you actually roll up your sleeves to make this delicious chocolate cake. But producing the spectacular, oozing runny, lava-like chocolate inside needs a little experience of knowing how to work with your own oven. The prime principle is not to over cook the chocolate batter.

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Baked Pork Chops with Rice (Classic Chinese Recipe)

This Baked Pork Chops with Rice dish is very popular and well-liked in Hong Kong. The melted cheese covering tasty pan-fried pork chops on a bed of fried rice makes everyone enjoy digging in.

This Baked Pork Chops with Fried Rice (焗豬扒飯) is a classic Cantonese cuisine that I started to eat when I was a little kid.

Even though my lovely daughter has adapted to Western foods, she loves this dish very much. Whenever we go into any Chinese café (茶餐廳 Cha Chaan Teng ), she would definitely order this dish. She’d never miss it at any time.

If you’ve tried this dish before, I think you would share the same feeling that this classic Chinese cuisine is very tempting.

This time I added some fresh mushrooms that most Hong Kong restaurants seldom use because fresh mushrooms are very expensive in Hong Kong. After stir-frying the mushrooms with other vegetables, I cooked the delicious tomato sauce.

The special part of this dish is the fried rice with the baked loin chops and melted cheese on top. When it comes out from the oven, both the flavor and color of the dish are very attractive.

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Baked Red Bean Coconut Cake (Chinese New Year)

The texture of this red bean coconut cake is a bit chewy, yet soft and smooth enough for easily digesting. The taste is so delicious. I especially love the crispy edges. This coconut cake is best served warm or hot out of the oven. 

During the busy Chinese New Year’s celebration week, we have lots of different cakes (gao 糕). Yes, we can’t celebrate without all the traditional cakes, radish cake, taro cake (aka yum cake), sticky rice cake and water chestnut cake.

Except for all these must-have cakes, I pretty like this baked coconut cake.

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Baked Coconut Sticky Rice Cake (Chinese New Year)

This baked coconut sticky rice cake (aka baked Chinese New Year cake) is absolutely tasty. It's a no-brainer recipe. You won't go wrong if you try. I often bake this coconut sticky rice cake for Chinese New Year celebration recently.

As Chinese New Year is coming around the corner, my daughter begins to ask me what I’m going to cook to celebrate. The first thing came up in my mind was this baked Coconut Pudding.

My dear friend, Vivian who came from Malaysia baked one to share with us some time ago. I was impressed because it was so delicious. Vivian told us that her family would bake this coconut pudding to celebrate Chinese New Year in Malaysia.

(My daughter likes eating coconut pudding with some fresh cream.)

During Chinese New Year, Chinese people would make all kinds of cakes or puddings for friends. I have tried a steamed coconut cake that is very popular in Hong Kong.

Honestly speaking, I like this baked one most.

So I plan to bake one in the coming New Year season. The delicious taste, fragrant smell and chewy texture will make it a hit in my family for sure.

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5-Ingredient Baked Pork Ribs (Video)

Here comes my favourite baked pork rib dish. You only need 5 ingredients to make it. Best of all, you don’t even need to marinate the pork ribs in advance. Simply mix all the ingredients together and pop into an oven. 

The pork ribs will become very tasty and tender after a slow-baking process without any fuss. They are best served immediately with salad or rice. Sounds good, right?

One simple secret tip on making tasty and succulent baked ribs you want to know. Cut the pork ribs separately beforehand. It’ll do the magic.

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Gingerbread Men Recipe

Here comes a recipe that requested by my Chinese fan. She wants to make some gingerbread men cookies for a church gathering. It’s my pleasure to help of course, although it’s not my plan to make any bakery in such a hot weather in Australia. I have already got used to celebrate Christmas in warm weather, although I miss the chilly season’s atmosphere in my hometown.

Got two gingerbread men put on swimming suits. Ready to go with me !

Going back to our gingerbread men making, I can’t stress enough about the importance of the sugar choice. Try the best to get brown sugar. It adds an inviting sugar cane fragrance and beautiful brownish colour. On top of it, use molasses or golden syrup, available at supermarkets, that helps create delightful taste and lovely texture. If you can’t find any, you can replace it with honey.

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Baked Honey Lemon Chicken Drumsticks

What we loved about these baked chicken drumsticks is their juicy and succulent meat with tasty lemon and honey sauce.

No matter tucking in with our clean hands or knife and fork, we felt the finger lick'n drumsticks are so good.

To make this dish, either for your family or party finger food, it won’t be wrong at all. One side note, either thawed (if frozen) or fresh drumsticks can be used to make this delicious dish.

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Malaysian Satay Chicken

The taste of this satay chicken is so authentic and wonderfully delicious. The recipe was from a friend who was a chef in Malaysia. How could it be?

We held a Hong Kong style BBQ party some time ago, grilling foods on charcoal. The Malaysian chef bought some marinated satay chicken to share with us.

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Chocolate Chiffon Cake

This is a very light version of chiffon cake with minimum sugar, using olive oil instead. The texture is light, soft and fluff. I have made this cake for many times. Recently I made one for my church friends.

To highlight this humble, soft cake, I decorated it with whipped cream, dressed a bit of chocolate sauce on top. The fresh strawberries really popped up and contributed a fresh taste and feel. 

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Baked Salmon with Herb Crust

This baked salmon with herb crust is served with a very delicious sauce, perfect paired with salad or noodles.

Do you like eating salmon? Not only salmon tastes good, but also provides us with many unique health beneficial substances, like Omega-3 fatty acid that help improve our memory.

Speaking about cooking, it’s very easy and quick to cook salmon. You can eat it raw, pan fry it, boil it, steam it or bake it.

This time I baked salmon coated with a layer of herb crust. Thus the fish fillet won’t be dried up easily in an oven. The salmon fillet will keep its moist. A very tasty sauce is served with the salmon, taking the whole dish up a notch.

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Creme Caramel (Valentine's Day Dessert)

My husband loves eggs. He loves every egg dish, no matter whether it’s savoury or sweet. For Valentine’s Day, it’s quite natural to make something simple and sweet. It’s a day to relax with minimum cooking time, if not dining out. So I prepared some crème caramel, a classic French dessert.

I often think crème caramel is quite similar to the Hong Kong steamed custard. The former is baked in an oven, whereas the latter is steamed in a wok. The highlight of the French dessert is the caramel – an elegant and sensational caramelized syrup. Super delicious.

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Baked Drunken Prawns (焗醉蝦)

To make this drunken prawns dish is very straightforward without any fuss at all. All the flavours are absorbed by the tender prawn meats.

Drunken prawns are very popular in Chinese cuisine just like drunken chicken dishes.

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