Frosted Banana Nut Bars

Servings: 1 8-inch (20 cm) square pan, which cuts into 18 bars

Ingredients:
Banana Nut Cake
¼ cup (60g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup (100g) light brown sugar
1 large egg at room temperature
1 tsp (5ml) vanilla extract
1 tsp (5ml) finely grated orange zest
⅔ cup (170g) mashed ripe banana (about 1 large or 2 small)
2 tbsp (30ml) orange juice
1 cup (130g) all-purpose flour
½ tsp (2ml) baking powder
¼ tsp (1ml) salt
½ cup (60g) walnut pieces, plus extra for sprinkling

Frosting
3 tbsp (45g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups (180g) icing sugar
1 Tbsp (15ml) orange juice
1 tsp (5ml) finely grated orange zest
½ tsp (2ml) vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C). Grease and line an 8-inch (20 cm) square pan with parchment paper so that the paper hangs over the sides a little.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together, then beat in the egg followed by the vanilla and orange zest. Stir in the banana and orange juice.

3. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt and add this to the butter mixture, stirring until blended. Add the walnut pieces and stir in. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly.

4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a tester inserted in the centre of the pan comes out clean. Cool the cake to room temperature in the pan.

5. For the frosting, beat the butter with 1 cup (120 g) of the icing sugar until smooth and fluffy. Stir in the orange juice, zest and vanilla, and then beat in the remaining ½ cup (60 g) of icing sugar.

6. Remove the banana cake from the pan and peel away the parchment paper. Frost the top of the cake and sprinkle with walnut pieces. Let the frosting set, uncovered for an hour before slicing into bars (6 by 3 bars).

Store the bars in an airtight container for up to 3 days.