Editor's January Pick #11: Banana Bread

Editor's note: Not sure if it's cheating to have two bread recipes in this week's selections but hey, perks of the job! Banana bread is one of my favourite treats, only made on occasion as I frequent the kitchen thinking of ways to accidentally happen upon another piece. One small tip (In addition to the useful ones mentioned in the following piece) - try with some peanut butter spread on it. 

Back to the new book … Four down, five to go!

Here's the next choice from “The Little Book of Chocolat”.

It wouldn't be right not to bake a cake for JJ so, here's :

River-Gypsy Banana Bread

Takes 1 hour / serves 8

butter for greasing a tin or a cake liner

200g self-raising wholemeal flour

1 tsp baking powder

100g unrefined brown sugar

100g milk chocolate, broken into small

even pieces

2 eggs

100ml vegetable oil

3 ripe bananas, mashed

Pre-heat your oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4. Grease a 1kg loaf tin and line with baking parchment or use a cake liner.

Place the flour, baking powder, sugar and chocolate in a mixing bowl and mix well. In a jug place the eggs, oil and bananas and whizz until smooth – use a hand-held blender or hand mixer. Pour into the flour mix and blend quickly until stiff.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, sprinkle the top with some extra brown sugar and place in the middle of the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Test for readiness by inserting a skewer into the middle of the cake – it should come out clean when it's ready. Turn out the cake onto a cooling rack. Eat warm or cold.

The nitty-gritty!

I didn't use milk chocolate, I used plain chocolate chips. The result is that because plain chocolate has higher cocoa solids it does not melt like milk chocolate does - so, when sliced, you got perfect little hits of melted chocolate with the banana – yummy!

This is in no way any reflection on the recipe proper – if you're going to tip your hat at “sort of” healthy by using wholemeal flour using milk chocolate seems to cancel it out if you know what I mean. It's whatever makes you happy.

A very kind cake …

... that uses those bananas you'd forgotten about. This isn't the first time I've mentioned this cake but I think it completes the “treats trio” well. Some are sniffy about using bananas in cakes that it somehow isn't posh or cheffy enough – it's their loss!

Banana Cake

250g/9oz self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

150g/5oz unsalted butter

250g/9oz caster sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

3 ripe bananas – pureéd or mashed with a fork

1 tbsp milk

You can make the cake as a tray bake – you can make it in sandwich tins and turn it into a filled cake (2x8in) or even make it posh using dariole moulds for timbales - anything made in a dariole mould becomes a timbale when turned out.

Grease and line the sandwich tins, grease the dariole moulds.

Sift the dry ingredients together. Cream the butter and sugar then add the eggs gradually. Fold in the dry ingredients alternately with the bananas and milk.

Bake for 30 minutes 160fan/180C/Gas 4.

This cake freezes well in whatever shape or size you decide to bake.

If you're using sandwich tins then freeze the cake unfilled.

If you're making a tray bake then it would be practical to cut the bake into squares, or whatever size portion you prefer, before freezing.

If you're using dariole moulds for timbales then let them cool, then remove from the mould, bag and freeze. They take one minute in the microwave, individually, to defrost and warm.

Photos coming up ...

Go bananas – the photo guide

The butter and sugar, creamed together

The ingredients, mixed

The disposable piping bag

In the dariole moulds, ready to bake

Just out of the oven

Out of the dariole mould, into a timbale! X 2 photos

As a guide the moulds measure 6cms/2½” in diameter x

6cms/2½” deep and you'll get 10 or 12 from the recipe

10 if ¾ full, 12 if ½ full

Now all I have to decide is what to serve with!

Go bananas!

After the birthday bowl I thought it only right that I follow with a sweet treat. Can someone explain how come I always seem to finish up with at least two or three bananas past their best even though they have come from the same bunch – it's one of the great mysteries of life.

Since the emphasis recently has been on regaining control after our holiday excesses this is the perfect recipe to use up those over-ripe bananas hanging from the tree.

You may think that bananas are too lowly in the fruit chain to qualify for a supper/dinner party dessert – I hope I'm about to change your mind.

This recipe is the epitome of versatility :

as a traditional sandwich cake, filled with whipped cream

and dusted with icing sugar – 2 x sandwich tins, greased

20.5cms/8”

as a tray bake, cut into squares and served with vanilla

custard or ice cream – or both

Today it's timbales but before we go any further I should explain, a timbale is anything you make in a dariole mould, so perfect for individual servings. If you're not sure what to look for I've included a photo in the guide that follows - here's the basic recipe:

250g/9oz self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

150g/5oz unsalted butter

250g/9oz caster sugar

2 eggs, beaten

3 bananas puréed, mixed with 1 tbsp

milk

Sift the dry ingredients together.

Cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs gradually. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the bananas and milk. To make life easier I transfer the mixture to a disposable piping bag – less messy – fill the moulds half to three quarters full. Bake for 25 minutes 160fan/180c/Gas 4.

This recipe is perfect for freezing, stating the obvious I know, but if you make the sandwich cake freeze it unfilled!

I make my timbales ahead and freeze – they take one minute to microwave (on high).

Photos coming next.