BANANA BREAD

I always seem to have the same problem. I buy a bunch of bananas and the final two turn black, sickly sweet and soft before I have a chance to take them to work and have them for morning tea with some yoghurt and honey. I usually throw them in one of our freezer drawers until Chris and I start to crave my mum’s wonderful Banana Crunch Cake.

A few weeks ago I already had three frozen bananas hiding in the freezer and two more ripening at lightning speed in our fruit bowl. Something had to be done. I felt too guilty to add them to the pile that was growing slowly but surely in the deep freeze. So I took a banana from the freezer and the two from the bench and got baking. (See my baking tip on freezing bananas here.)







For some reason banana bread popped into my head; the chewy kind you can spread butter on. I kind of like the 1970’s associations that come with banana bread – healthier and a bit more down to earth than cake. It should be baked in a brown kitchen with brown and cream linoleum on the floor and orange-flowered crockery on the shelves. While wearing flares.





Am I right in thinking that banana bread is meant to be a bit more glutinous and, well, more like bread than cake? That’s the kind of texture I was looking for but, sadly, this banana bread was more like banana cake or banana loaf. Don’t get me wrong; it was totally delicious! We ate the whole thing within a couple of days; Chris even eating his share for breakfast. Though that’s not necessarily the measure of a good cake – he always does that.



Actually, when I think about it, this bread was very similar to the Banana Crunch Cake my mum makes but without the crunch. It has a touch of cinnamon added to the batter which achieves the same sort of overall flavour; just a little more plain and restrained. The cake (I should say ‘bread’ really shouldn’t I?).... the bread itself is light and soft; a nice basic banana cake (no! bread!) with a hint of spice that adds a pleasant depth of flavour. A slice of this would be perfect with a cup of tea when you want something simple but a little more satisfying than a plain biscuit. I wouldn’t toast it though, the crumb is too loose and it would fall apart in your toaster. And that’s it right there isn’t it? The reason why it isn’t ‘bread’. You can’t toast it.

I’ve given up. I now officially rename this recipe, ‘Banana Loaf’. (I seem to be doing that a lot lately don’t I? Renaming recipes....)

And so my quest for a chewy, dense banana bread continues.... When I find it, I’ll let you know.


Note:

After re-reading the recipe and looking at the picture on the website, I think I know why my banana bread turned out so light and delicate and more like cake:

I have a feeling I mashed the banana too intensely. I think making a chunky mixture with a few whole pieces of banana still intact rather than a smooth paste would moisten the bread and help it to develop a more glutinous texture. I think next time I'd add an extra banana as well which would help.

The recipe says not to over mix the batter. While this is really important when trying to make a cake as light and airy as possible, a banana bread can do with a little more mixing. I basically only mixed until combined which turns out wasn't quite enough, so I'd recommend mixing for another minute or so after the ingredients have come together. Don't overdo it though, otherwise your bread will become tough.

I didn't have any walnuts in my pantry so had to miss them out. Next time I'll make the effort to find some because I think they would have helped to retain a little more moisture in the cooked loaf and produced a slightly chewier texture.





BANANA LOAF
(or Banana Bread, adapted from the Joy of Baking website)

1 3/4 cups (230 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar (I used caster)
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 ripe large bananas, mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place oven rack to middle position. Butter and flour or line with baking paper the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. (The important thing is not to over mix the batter. You do not want it smooth. Over mixing the batter will yield tough, rubbery bread.) Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake until bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. This bread can be frozen.

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APPLE CAKE WITH HONEY AND CINNAMON CRÈME FRAÎCHE

The other day I noticed a few apples sitting in our fruit bowl looking dejected. They were starting to develop that sweet-honey smell that means their past their eating best but are perfect for baking.





Apple cake? I had a lovely, simple recipe I’d used a few times; a fairly basic butter cake with apple quarters scored and pushed gently into the soft batter and coated with apricot jam, which I’d found in one of my mum’s Australian Women’s Weekly cookbooks. I hunted through my handwritten recipe journal and file of cut-outs with no success. It was 3 o’clock in the morning in New Zealand, so I couldn’t ring my mum and get her to read the recipe out to me over the phone. Sometimes it’s so frustrating not living in the same time zone as your family. It makes the distance even harder since you feel so completely disconnected. Eating a slice of homemade apple cake would make it slightly easier to bear though. So I set about finding a new recipe to try.





I decided to look for one that was a bit different from my original recipe – trying to find one similar would surely only lead to disappointment. On the Waitrose website I found a recipe for ‘Organic Apple Cake with Honey and Cinnamon Crème Fraîche’. It was the layer of caramelised and finely sliced apple that really grabbed me. It looked shiny and delicious; this was the one.

First of all, I have to tell you that I chose this recipe despite the fact it claimed to be ‘organic’. Anything can be organic if you stick the word ‘organic’ in front of every ingredient listed. I also chose it even though everything in the ingredients list is measured in grams rather than cups or mls. Something which is particularly frustrating for me as I don’t yet own a set of scales.... It’s on my ‘to do’ list. Luckily I’ve found a great website which converts weights of different ingredients into various units. It’s pretty hard to get completely accurate though – 0.66 of a cup anyone? Electronic scales will be my next kitchen purchase. I just need to find some I like. It’s harder than you would think.

So – even though this cake was teetering on the edge of the ‘too-hard basket’ and had me scoffing at it’s ingredients list, I persevered. Lucky cake.





A very, very easy cake to make. (As long as you ignore the fact that I was continually running back and forth between the kitchen and my laptop on the dining room table trying to remember conversion quantities!) The batter couldn't be simpler and while the apples are slightly fiddly to arrange, they look pretty and it only takes about 5 minutes. The cake itself actually improves after a day or two, so I would recommend baking it the day before you intend to serve it. If not, it's a lovely light cake fresh from the oven.









I ended up taking this as a dessert for dinner at Anna and Carl’s house. I’m so glad I did, as had I not, I would never had tried the Honey and Cinnamon Crème Fraîche (which would have been a bit of an extravagant addition just for the two of us). Flavoured creams have never really caught my attention before, and they’re definitely not something I would usually make on a regular basis – save the Chantilly cream my family makes instead of ordinary whipped cream. (I don’t think I can remember a time when we’ve whipped cream to go with something sweet and not included a teaspoon of castor sugar and a small splash of vanilla essence. Infinitely better than plain.)

This Crème Fraîche is worth the little extra effort it takes to assemble - particularly with a delicately flavoured cake such as this. It transforms what could be an ordinary tea cake into something special and worthy of dessert. If you can't get hold of crème fraîche, whipping or double cream will be fine. Just make sure it's whipped to a thick consistency before adding the cinnamon honey.

Just to let you know; I tried this twice - the first time with whipped double cream because that was all the Tesco up the road had in stock, the second time with crème fraîche. I can't decide which is better. I liked the double cream; it was lighter and sweeter and allowed the taste of the cinnamon and honey to stand out. Chris preferred the crème fraîche; he said he liked the slight lemony tartness alongside the apples in the cake. So the jury's out on that one - but which ever you choose, be rest assured it's good no matter what.

While I know that no cake will ever be wonderful enough to keep the homesickness blues completely at bay, the comforting smell of any cake gently baking in the oven will always help - at least a little.


Chris and I are off to Paris for the Easter holiday weekend! So no more posting until next week sometime, but I'm sure I'll bring back lots of photos of amazing confections and french delights to share. À bientôt!








Apple Cake with Honey + Cinnamon Crème Fraîche
(adapted from the Waitrose Website)

For the cake:
2 eating apples
225g demerara sugar (or raw sugar)
200g butter, softened
3 room temperature free range eggs, beaten
200g self-raising flour
150g pot natural yoghurt

For the crème fraîche:
500g crème fraîche
2 tbsp liquid honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Lightly grease a round 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin, line the base with baking parchment, then grease the top of the parchment.

2. Core the apples and slice thinly (no need to peel). Put them in a large bowl, add 25g of the sugar and toss well to coat. Arrange the slices in the tin, overlapping them slightly to form circles. Make sure there are no gaps between the apples as this will result in uneven areas where the batter will show on the top of the cake.

3. Beat the butter and remaining sugar together until light and fluffy, using an electric hand whisk or wooden spoon. Add the eggs, a little at a time, until they are fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth. If the mixture begins to curdle, simply add a spoonful or two of the flour and continue to add the egg. This should not happen if your ingredients are at room temperature and you make sure to add the eggs only a little at a time.

4. Fold in the remaining flour and yoghurt, then carefully spoon the mixture over the apples. Place the cake tin on a baking tray and bake for about 1 hour, or until golden and springy to the touch. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 20 minutes or so. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

5. Spoon the crème fraîche into a serving bowl. Beat the honey and cinnamon together, then stir gently through the crème fraîche. Chill. Serve the cake in slices, with the honeyed crème fraîche.

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SOUR CREAM LEMON CAKE

I love eggs. They seem to radiate a sense of peacefulness and calm. A promise of good things to come.
Seeing a half dozen jumbled into a white bowl makes me happy. (It doesn’t take much. I’m a fan of the ‘little things’.)









After we moved to London, I discovered a whole array of different varieties of eggs I’d never been able to get a hold of easily in New Zealand. Muted shades of pale turquoise, watery green, soft honey and tan. A multitude of creams.



And seeing these eggs sitting quietly in our kitchen, I just had to bake a cake. A cake with six eggs and a hefty quantity of butter.





This recipe for Sour Cream Lemon Cake was discovered by my mother, Maeva. It is featured in a cookbook called "Best Recipes” by Annabelle White* which she bought several years ago. Something you should know about my mother; she loves recipe books, cook books, cooking magazines, interior design magazines and magazines in general. She has piles around the house, and boxes and boxes of them dating back to the early 80’s in storage. I love this about her (though it frustrates my father no end, who can’t understand why she needs so many….). Every time I was bored and wanted something to entertain or inspire me, I would pick up a magazine from the pile in the lounge and settle into the couch and read; flicking through the recipes and beautiful photographs. It is probably safe to say that her obsession with buying magazines and cookbooks helped to start my own obsession.... Like mother like daughter.



This recipe is described by Annabelle as “the ultimate lemon cake”. And I think she's right. This is the only lemon cake recipe we use in our family. It’s pretty much fail-safe as long as you make sure to cook it slowly until the centre is just firm and a skewer comes out completely clean.























It’s light and dense at the same time. Has a wonderful, subtle lemony perfume and always looks impressive.









It’s the perfect accompaniment to a milky cup of hot tea but equally wonderful served slightly heated with lemon curd and softly whipped cream for an elegant and simple dessert.









Sour Cream Lemon Cake
(slightly adapted from Best Recipes by Annabelle White)

250g softened butter
2 cups sugar (can use castor, though regular white sugar is fine)
6 lightly beaten large eggs
4 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
2 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons sifted baking powder
1 cup sour cream

Glaze:
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup castor sugar

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and lemon rind, blend well.
Fold in flour and baking powder alernately with the sour cream. Mix gently until smooth and pour into a well greased 20 cm round tin.
Bake at 160ºC for 60 minutes or until a skewer comes away clean when tested.
After baking, leave the cake in the tin for a few minutes, pour on the glaze. Leave until mostly cool and then remove from the pan.

*Annabelle White is a New Zealand cook who writes good, solid traditional recipes from a kiwi perspective.

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