Too Many Bananas? Try Thai Banana Cake (Kanom Gluay)

When you have too many bananas, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Banana bread, most likely, right? But for Thai people, we turn to kanom gluay - Thai steamed banana "cake." My mom made these often when I was a kid as we had a banana tree, and they're super easy and tasty. Today I make them for my son, and he adores them. They're easier, faster, and healthier than banana bread!

Ingredients and Notes

Here are all the ingredients you'll need and important notes about them. For amounts, see the the full recipe card below.

• Ripe bananas. They do not have to be overripe, as long as they're not green they'll be fine to use. But if they are overripe, they will work too. Super flexible! Note: In Thailand we traditionally use namwa bananas which are a little fruitier-tasting, but regular bananas you find in North America also yield a delicious result and these are what I use here in Canada. So use whatever sweet bananas you have!
• Coconut milk. This is my recommended coconut milk. Read more about this important Thai ingredient in my coconut milk 101 article.
• Shredded coconut, unsweetened. I use dried shredded coconut which you can find at most grocery stores, however, traditionally, we use fresh shredded coconut meat, which is available frozen at many Asian grocery stores. You can also make a version that uses young coconut meat which comes in cans. This is a very flexible recipe, so any kind of coconut meat you have to add, it'll do!
• Thai rice flour. Use rice flour from Thailand as it has a finer texture than rice flour from the US or other countries. Do NOT use glutinous rice flour as they are different and cannot be used interchageably.
• Tapioca starch. You CAN use all rice flour if you want to keep it simple, but I like to add a little tapioca starch to give it a little bounciness.
• Salt.
• Lime or lemon juice, optional. This is a trick I developed as a result of working with N. American bananas that are very ripe, because the riper they are, the less acidic they become. The Thai bananas we use for these cakes are a fruitier and more acidic, so adding just a few drops of lime or lemon juice to the batter brightens the flavour up noticeably. I always taste the batter first before deciding whether I want to add more lime juice or not, because remember when working with fresh fruit, every batch can be different!

Step-By-Step

Here's a bird's eye view of the process. The full instructions are in the recipe card below, and if this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success!

1. Mash the bananas with a fork, but leave it a bit chunky.
2. Combine the starches, sugar, salt and coconut milk and stir into a smooth batter. Then add the coconut meat, holding back about 1 ½ tablespoon for garnish, and stir to mix.
3. Add the batter to the bananas.
4. Stir until well combined. Taste the batter and see if it might benefit from a little bit of acidity, if so add a touch of lime or lemon juice.

Storage and Reheating

These will last in the fridge for up to a week, and before eating, simply reheat in the microwave or steamer until it's piping hot and fully heated through, otherwise it will not regain its original texture. Then let cool a bit before eating.

You can also freeze them! Reheat directly from frozen, or let them thaw first before reheating in the microwave or steamer. Just remember to reheat until it's steaming hot as rice flour based products will not be as soft as it was if it does not get hot enough.

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