Vietnamese Banana and Bread Cake (Banh Chuoi)

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Our family’s Vietnamese banana and bread cake or banh chuoi in Vietnamese, is one of those hidden gem recipes. The cake is somewhat similar to a British bread pudding but has the consistency of a baked cheesecake. It has delicious caramelised banana chunks on the top which gives it an amazing golden brown colour. This banana and bread cake is perfect for using up stale white bread and for when you’re on a tighter budget.

I am the first person to admit that I am not a natural baker. I have never particularly had an interest in it until recently where I made aVietnamese honeycomb cake. This cake was challenging since it was riddled with booby traps. So for my next baking project, I decided to make something much simpler. My mother suggested this banana cake recipe because according to her it is impossible to stuff up. Immediately, I am thinking to myself that this is a trap. I know my mum is a God-fearing Catholic but she undoubtedly gets her kicks outta seeing me make an absolute dog’s breakfast out of an easy recipe.

Vietnamese Banana and Bread Cake (Banh Chuoi) - Scruff & Steph (1)

So, not wanting to look like a weakling in front of my one-year old daughter I took on the recipe. Admittedly, the cake was very easy to make. It was also very easy to burn! There is a lot of natural sugar from the bananas that just wants to get lit up like a bonfire. Fortunately, after a few tweaks here and there, I am now confident that the methodology is pretty much bullet proof.

The Main Differences With Our Recipe

Our family recipe for this banana cake is noticeably different from many other versions you may find on the internet. My mother assures me that this recipe is authentic since it has been handed down through the generations. The main differences you will see with our recipe is that:

Ours is a very moist cake with a cheesecake-like texture. This will also cause the cake to sink slightly in the middle. Other versions tend to have more flour and/or bread which makes the cake more even on top but is also a lot firmer and drier.
Ours is not layered like a bread and butter pudding. The bread slices are mashed into a thick paste and the banana slices are suspended in the mixture. We find that the cake holds better this way.
We only serve this cake after it has been chilled in the fridge.
Our recipe is egg- and dairy-free, making it a vegan-friendly cake.

My Tips for Vietnamese Banana and Bread Cake

The Bananas

Just-ripe bananas are ideal for this recipe since you want it to be sweet but still hold its shape. Over-ripe will still work but will blend into the cake mixture and it may look completely uniform when the cake is cross-sectioned.

Do not cut the banana pieces too small since you want them to be visible.

The Bread

Bread that is 3 + days old is ideal, but if you only have fresh bread then you will need to put 1 more tbsp of flour to help the cake hold its shape.

Don’t Line the Cake Tin

Do not use baking paper to line your cake tin since it has a tendency to stick to the bottom of the cake. It can be very painful having to manually remove bits of paper from each piece of cake.

The Baking Process

There is a decent amount of sugar in the mixture so it does have a tendency to burn a little. If it looks like it is burning at any time, loosely cover the cake with a piece of aluminium foil.

Cooling the Cake

It is important to leave the cake to cool in the oven for 15 minutes before taking it out. You may find that the cake will severely collapse on itself if this step is missed.

Do not cover the cake when it is cooling in the fridge. This is to prevent condensation turning your caramelised cake top into mush.

Serve the Cake Chilled

The banana cake is best served when it has been chilled overnight in the fridge. Do not serve it warm or it will be very mushy.

Vietnamese Banana and Bread Cake (Banh Chuoi) - Scruff & Steph (8)

Recipe Costings

This table shows how much this recipe will cost if you had to go out and buy everything on the ingredients list (“Shop Price”), as well as the value of ingredients actually used in the recipe (“Recipe Cost”).

With the “Shop Price”, we’re assuming you’re buying the smallest possible quantity to make this recipe. Obviously if you’re buying things in larger quantities the price will be higher, but you’re also more likely to be paying less per unit. We haven’t bothered with things like salt and pepper as the cost would be negligible.

All prices are in Australian dollars and are based off what was published on Coles Onlineor Woolworths Online as at time of writing.

Ingredient	Quantity Bought	Shop Price	Recipe Needs	Recipe Cost
Sliced white bread	1 loaf (650 gm) at $1.25	$1.25	200 gm	$0.38
Coconut Cream	1 can at $1	$1.00	1 can	$1.00
Bananas	5 at $4.90 / kg	$4.40	5	$4.40
Plain flour	2 kg packet	$1.80	2 tbsp	$0.01
Brown Sugar	1 kg packet	$2.80	1/3 cup	$0.20
Vanilla extract	200 ml bottle	$11.50	1/2 tsp	$0.29
Sesame seeds	100 gm packet	$2.50	1/2 tsp	$0.04
Canola oil	750 ml bottle	$2.25	1 tsp	$0.02
Total		$27.50		$6.34

Vietnamese Banana and Bread Cake (Banh Chuoi) - Scruff & Steph (9)

Other Recipes You May Like

Vietnamese Honeycomb Cake (Banh Bo Nuong)
Vietnamese Pig’s Ear Biscuits – Banh Tai Heo
Layered Pastry and Mung Bean Cake (Banh Pia)
Crispy Almond Biscuits
Vietnamese Snowballs – Banh Bao Chi

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-Scruff