When I returned from my jaunting at the weekend I was met by the sad sight of two dead bananas in the fruit bowl. Not just on the turn, or a bit spotty, but dead. And they’d taken half a lemon with them.
Now, we all know that the only thing a dead banana is good for is baking. Usually I turn to my go-to recipe for banana bread but I decided to go for something a little different which I’ve had bookmarked for a while.
I think I ever so slightly over cooked these, so I’ve adjusted the baking time to reflect that. Brownies and blondies are tricky animals – you want them crusty on top and gooey in the middle and these were tending towards the cakey in the outer pieces. I also have upped the cinnamon on the original recipe, but then I am a cinnamon fiend, so feel free to turn it back down. It’s subsequently occurred to me that these would be fantastic with pecans rather than hazelnuts and also that chunks of white chocolate running through might be quite tasty – although given how sweet these little beauties are already this might push them over the edge.
Oh, and also, these are seriously good as a pudding – try blasting them in the microwave for 30 seconds and then serving with half fat crème fraiche and a trickle of golden syrup or toffee sauce. Divine.
I’ve suggested cutting these into sixteen pieces, but, to be honest they are sweet enough that twenty would probably do as well – this would reduce them to 4 pro points each which is well worth it.
Ingredients
2 dead bananas, mashed
125g unsalted butter
325g light brown sugar
150g plain flour
2 scant tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
3 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
50g chopped hazelnuts (or any other nut you happen to fancy)
Makes 16, 5 pro points per portion
Although easy to make, these blondies to require a few different bowls. So be prepared for some washing up while they are in the oven.
Speaking of the oven, preheat to 180. And line a square baking tin – 8 by 8 should give you a decent depth.
In a saucepan, over a low heat, melt together the butter and the sugar until it is liquid gold. Set aside to cool slightly.
Sieve together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
Lightly beat the eggs together with the vanilla essence. Pour in the cooled butter and sugar, stir, add the chopped nuts and mashed banana and stir again until well combined.
Now gently mix in your dried ingredients. You will be presented with quite a loose batter. Pour into the prepared tin.
Bake for around 20 minutes and check – the top should be golden and crusty and there should be a slight wobble to the cake which will set as it cools. It may require more time but keep an eye on it after the 20 minutes stage.
Allow to cool slightly before turning out and cutting into sixteen pieces. Serve with a cup of tea. Those bananas did not die in vain.
Showing posts with label banana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label banana. Show all posts
Wednesday, 24 July 2013
Sunday, 24 June 2012
Classic recipe corner - Banana bread
One of the nice things about having a food blog is the fact you can preserve recipes for future generations. And as soon as I manage to hustle a member of said future generation into the kitchen, this is what I will teach them to make.
A loaf of banana bread - here posing coyly in front of the Kitchen Aid. It is not a pretty thing, nor glamourous, but it is simple and delicious and makes the home smell of all good things, which is just what baking should be.
I first baked banana bread when living with D at his request - it was not a recipe that had featured in my mother's baking repertoire as far as I recall. I had to borrow a loaf tin from his mother to make it. I never got round to giving it back to her. Now, whenever I it, I use Mary's tin and it reminds me, a little, of her.
The following top tip is all my own however. I always freeze bananas when they start to turn until I have enough to do something with them. Before incorporating them into the cake batter I microwave them, from frozen, for five minutes. The resulting banana purée can be squeezed out of the skins and requires no mashing. It makes life marginally easier...
Ingredients
225g self raising flour
Tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
100g caster sugar
100g butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp runny honey
100g sultanas
55g chopped walnuts
3 medium-large bananas, peeled and matched or reduced to sludge in the microwave (see above)
2 eggs
Juice of a lemon
Makes 1 loaf, 78 pro points for the whole
Preheat the oven to 180. Lightly spray a loaf tin with Fry Light to prevent the cake from sticking and line the bottom with greaseproof paper.
Sift the flour into a bowl (if you have a mixer use the bowl of that) and add the cinnamon, salt and sugar.
Mix in the butter (with spoon, fingers or mixer) until the mixture resembles damp sand. Then add the other ingredients and beat well into a loose batter.
Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and cover with foil, then turn the heat down to 170 and bake for a further 15-30 mins until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
A loaf of banana bread - here posing coyly in front of the Kitchen Aid. It is not a pretty thing, nor glamourous, but it is simple and delicious and makes the home smell of all good things, which is just what baking should be.
I first baked banana bread when living with D at his request - it was not a recipe that had featured in my mother's baking repertoire as far as I recall. I had to borrow a loaf tin from his mother to make it. I never got round to giving it back to her. Now, whenever I it, I use Mary's tin and it reminds me, a little, of her.
The following top tip is all my own however. I always freeze bananas when they start to turn until I have enough to do something with them. Before incorporating them into the cake batter I microwave them, from frozen, for five minutes. The resulting banana purée can be squeezed out of the skins and requires no mashing. It makes life marginally easier...
Ingredients
225g self raising flour
Tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
100g caster sugar
100g butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp runny honey
100g sultanas
55g chopped walnuts
3 medium-large bananas, peeled and matched or reduced to sludge in the microwave (see above)
2 eggs
Juice of a lemon
Makes 1 loaf, 78 pro points for the whole
Preheat the oven to 180. Lightly spray a loaf tin with Fry Light to prevent the cake from sticking and line the bottom with greaseproof paper.
Sift the flour into a bowl (if you have a mixer use the bowl of that) and add the cinnamon, salt and sugar.
Mix in the butter (with spoon, fingers or mixer) until the mixture resembles damp sand. Then add the other ingredients and beat well into a loose batter.
Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and cover with foil, then turn the heat down to 170 and bake for a further 15-30 mins until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
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