Three Tiered Banoffi Cake

Who doesn't love banoffi? Well... maybe someone on a diet like Victoria Beckham.... but she hasn't had a piece of cake in 25 years so she's probably forgotten what it should taste like. Biscuit base with bananas, toffee and cream can do no wrong in my estimation and when I saw the recipe for Banana and Fudge Cake in "The Great British Bake Off" book I had to give it a go. Three tiers are quite time consuming. I only have two tins of equal size so I had to bake them, let the tin cool and bake the last cake, but I think it really adds a wow factor as well as allowing you to put loads of filling between the layers. Don't be hasty with the fudge filling. Make it and allow it to cool for about 2 hours or until the consistency of nutella. If it is too light it will flow down the sides of the cake and ruin the aesthetic. If you leave it too long and it is too hard to spread, pop in the microwave for 10 seconds only at a time. The fudge can go from hard to liquid mess so be patient.

For the cake
175g unsalted butter, softened
150g caster sugar
25g light brown muscovado sugar
3 free range eggs, beaten
175g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp milk

For the filling and topping 
175g light brown muscovado sugar
150g unsalted butter
75g double cream
2 ripe bananas, finely sliced

Line 3 x 20.5cm sandwich tins with non stick paper and grease the edges with melted butter. Put the softened butter in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add the eggs with a tbsp of flour, beating well after each addition until the eggs are used up. Sift the remaining flour into the bowl and mix with a large wooden spoon. Finally add the vanilla extract and milk and fold in.

Divide the mixture equally among the 3 prepared tins and spread evenly. Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden, rotating after 15 minutes. Test with a skewer. The skewer should be clean when pulled out of the cake.

Meanwhile make the fudge mixture. Put the butter, sugar and cream into a medium sized saucepan and set over a low heat. Stir frequently until the butter has melted. Turn the heat up to medium and simmer for 3 minutes, continuously stirring so the mixture doesn't catch and burn. Remove from the heat vigorously for 30 seconds. Pour into a clean bowl. Put in the fridge and allow to cool for about 2 hours or until spreadable. Spread one third of the fudge on each cake. Tier the cakes, sponge, fudge, bananas and top with the final sponge. Decorate with flake chocolate and cocoa. Store in an airtight container and eat within 4 days.