Pumpkin & Banana Cake

Line the base & sides of a deep 20cm/8" round fixed base cake tin or souffle dish with baking parchment. Place an upturned saucer or metal pastry ring in the base of the crock pot, then pour in about 2.5cm of very hot water. Switch the slow cooker to high.

Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and salt into a large mixing bowl to combine. Stir in the sugar, chopped pecans/walnuts and grated pumpkin until thoroughly mixed. Make a slight hollow in the middle of the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, combine the bananas, eggs and sunflower oil, then stir into the dry ingredients. Turn into the prepared tin and level the surface.

Cover the tin with a piece of buttered foil and place in the slow cooker. Pour in sufficient boiling water to come just over halfway up the sides of the tin.

Cover the pot with the lid and cook on high for 4-4.5 hours, or until the cake is firm and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Carefully remove the cake from the slow cooker and stand the tin on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Turn out and leave to cool completeley, then peel off the lining paper.

To make the topping, put the butter, soft cheese and vanilla essence into a bowl and beat until blended and smooth. Sift in the icing sugar and beat again until smooth and creamy. Thickly spread the topping over the top of the cake and decorate with pecan halves. Chill in the refrigerator for a least 1 hour before serving, to allow the topping to harden