Chocolate Banana Bread

You know you have serious food issues when you just bake for the sake of a blog!!

Well not exactly - but I haven't had much to blog about lately, and I was feeling particularly inspired by Liss from www.frillsinthehils.com - she had had a bit of a baking session on Monday.  That coupled with the fact that I was shackled to the house with a sick child meant that I had nothing to do (well nothing enjoyable that was!!)  So I made a couple of baked items (ostensibly to add to the children's lunch boxes - if, and when they all returned to school!!)  Here is item number one that I baked.

Chocolate Banana Bread
From bills food by Bill Granger


250g (2 cups) plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
125g unsalted butter, softened (I used salted)
250g (1 cup) caster sugar
4 ripe bananas, mashed (I used 2 - they were massive)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
175g (1 cup) chocolate chips (I used 1 bag which was 230g - little over a cup)

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Lightly grease and flour a 19x11cm loaf tin.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl.

Mix the butter, sugar, banana, eggs, vanilla and chocolate chips in a separate bowl.  Add to the dry ingredients and stir to combine, being careful not to overmix. *

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the bread is cooked when tested with a skewer. **

Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

Serve in thick slices with butter. (If you are feeling particularly decadent!)

* When mixing the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients it is important not to overmix as this works the gluten and the end result is a tough and dry bread.  A loose (just mixed) mixture ensures a moist delicious result.

** I baked mine for 1 hour - then checked - mine was done at this stage - so I suggest you check at the 1 hour mark - and go from there.

As I had a lot of baked goods in the house I decided to take this along to tennis this morning - and it was given the thumbs up by all the ladies there - they even asked for the recipe as they thought their kids would love it!!

Banana Bread

I know I have banged on about flawed recipes before - but here is another one!!


As you know my oven is out of action.  Why does it take so long to order some hinges and re-glue the glass?  They haven't even ordered the parts yet - and they are not going to re-glue until next week - hello, you have had it for two weeks!!! - Don't you know there are people out there waiting for my oven required recipes!!!.

Sorry, not complaining about service companies here I am complaining about flawed recipes....

Anyway saw this recipe for Banana Bread and even though the oven was out of action I thought, I can't let those bananas go to waste - will attempt this in my little convection oven!  I have learnt over time that when "baking" in it I have to adjust the temperate by a good 20 degrees - so with that thought in mind I adjusted the temperature - to 130 degrees C?!!? Oh well, it is a printed recipe - they must be right. Right??  Now, I know that I didn't have the correct pan that they were asking for - but in the scheme of things it's depth was really the only thing lacking, so I can only blame myself for the overflow (which by the way was yummy, crispy, crunchy and almost like banana toffee!!).  I will give you the recipe as it was printed in the MasterChef Magazine - try it at 150 degrees if you will!!

Banana Bread with Honeyed Ricotta


1 2/3 cups self raising flour
1 tsp bicarb soda
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups caster sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 over ripe bananas, mashed
2 tbs greek style yoghurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups walnuts, roasted, halved
150g ricotta
1/2 cup honey


Preheat oven to 150 degrees C.  Grease and line the base and sides of an 8cm x 11cm x 30cm (6 cup) loaf pan with baking paper.  Sift flour, bicarb soda, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp salt into a bowl.


Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar on high speed until thick and pale.  Reduce speed to low-medium and gradually add oil in a thin steady stream.  Add bananas, yoghurt and vanilla, and beat until well combined.  Add flour mixture and three quarters of the walnuts and stir until combined.  Pour batter into prepared pan and scatter with remaining walnuts.  Bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.


Cool for 10 minutes in pan, then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.


Meanwhile, combine ricotta and 2 tbs honey in a bowl.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 tsp cinnamon.  Place 4 tbs honey in a small pan and warm slightly.


Drizzle banana bread with warm honey.  Thickly slice and serve with honeyed ricotta.

Now please try this - perhaps it was just my crappy little convection oven - perhaps this is not a flawed recipe at all!!!

I will tell you though, that the flavour of the cake was really, really good, even though it was a little undercooked in the centre.  It made a great dessert.  I didn't make the ricotta - so I can't comment on that - but it was definitely worth giving another try (when I have my real oven back!!).

One thing that I can produce OK in the convection oven is the caramel slice that you will find the recipe for in the baking section.  I can't keep it up the them - they love it, and are already asking for more!

Banana, Berry, Nut Bread

When I was quite young my grandmother gave me a book called "A Book for Kids" by C.J. Dennis - in it there was a poem that I still can rememmber to this day called The Circus.

"Hey, there! Hoop-La! The Circus is in town!
Have you seen the elephant?
Have you seen the clown?
Have you seen the dappled horse gallop round the ring?....."

C.J. Dennis lived from 1876 - 1938.  It was a very different circus that he wrote about compared to the one that we saw on Saturday night.

What would Mr. Dennis say if he could see a circus now??

Would he be amazed at the Wheel of Death, where "The Brazil Brothers" walked, skipped, and ran high up in the big top on a "wheel" that rotated - or would he gaze in wonder at the Globe of Death - where 4 motorcyclists whizzed around in a space that was barely big enough for one rider, let alone 4!!  The only animal acts that you will see in the circus these days will be the Shetland ponies (with the old dude - who has probably been around since C.J. Dennis' time - guiding them around the ring).  This act by the way was voted by "The Darlings" as the "gayest" act of the night!!!  Yes, it's a very different circus now!

So what does this have to do with food you say????

Absolutely nothing!!!  But it's my blog, and I am allowed to indulge in a little whimsy every now and again aren't I?  I can't just sit here and type out recipes for you every day - we need a little entertainment don't we?

Enought of that then you say - we want food!

This is a lovely cake that I "tweaked" the recipe to yesterday.

Banana, Berry, Nut Bread


150g butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
2 eggs
2 ripe (approx 1 cup) bananas, peeled (dah!!), and mashed
2 cups self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup buttermilk *
1/2 cup fresh or frozen berries **
50g slivered almonds  ***


Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (not fan forced).  Grease the base and sides of a 7cm deep, 11cm x 21cm loaf tin (I actually used a 5cm deep, 23x 17cm tin - it's all that I had - you choose!).  Line with baking paper, allowing an overhang on the ends.


Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until it is pale.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg has been added.  


Remove from the mixer stand - the rest is by hand!!  Stir in the banana.  Sift the flour and baking powder over the banana mixture.  Add the milk, and stir with a spoon until just combined.


Carefully fold in the berries and the nuts.  If you are using frozen raspberries mix them with a very small amount of flour to prevent them from sinking in the mixture.  


Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan.  Smooth the surface.  Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.


Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.


* I used buttermilk purely because I had some left in the fridge - and buttermilk is great when used in baking as it works with the self raising flour, or baking soda creating aeration, resulting in great tasting, light fluffy baking.  Saying that if you don't have any - just use regular milk.


**  I used Cranberries as I still had some left over from Christmas in the freezer - but you can use either raspberries or cranberries.  Don't use dried cranberries though as you will not get the same result!!  I thawed the berries slightly before adding to the mixture. 


*** I didn't actually measure - just used what was left over in a bag!!  


The cake can be cut into slices and individually wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks!  Perfect for school lunches!!  Or as a Dear Deader suggested today, heated up in the microwave and served with ice cream for dessert!

That kept "The Darlings" and the neighbour kid quiet yesterday afternoon.  I am quietly told that I cook better than his Mum!!  Told him perhaps I better give her my blog address!!!

Salmon Fillet wrapped in Prosciutto with Herby Lentils

It was a cold, miserable day yesterday and I was glad when I was finally in for the afternoon.   All sport had been cancelled!!  Hooray!! I now had more time to make a beautiful dinner, rather than whip something onto the table when we arrived home at 7:30.

I have been hankering for a piece of salmon for ages - so tonight was the night!!  Unfortunately the price of salmon seems to be rising higher and higher these days - which means that it makes quite an expensive dinner for us all.  "The Darlings" just love their salmon - and before I had even sat at the table they had "vacuumed" it from their plates and were giving me that "Oliver Twist" look.  If they thought I was parting with mine they had another think coming!!

This is a lovely, fresh healthy meal.  To accompany the salmon and lentils I served my usual standby - "smashed potatoes".  If you are serving the potatoes with your dish you will need to get them in the oven a good 20-25 minutes before the salmon.

Salmon Fillet wrapped in Prosciutto with Herby Lentils


Serves 4


300g lentils (I used Brown lentils)
4 x salmon fillets (use the tail - no bones!!)
8 sliced of prosciutto
olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
2 good handfuls of mixed herbs (I used flat leaf parsley, mint and basil)
150g baby spinach
200ml natural yoghurt
salt and freshly ground black pepper


Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C.


Rinse the lentils under running water, then place in a medium sized saucepan, and cover with water.  Bring to the boil, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until tender.


Season the salmon fillets with a little freshly ground black pepper, then wrap with the prosciutto (or if you have large pieces of salmon - just lay the prosciutto on top of the flesh).  Lay the fillets on a baking tray that has been lined with foil.  Spray with a little garlic olive oil spray.  Roast in the oven for 5-10 minutes, depending on how you like your salmon.  If you like it a little pink in the middle only cook it for around 5 minutes.


Season the yoghurt with a little lemon juice, salt and freshly ground pepper.


Drain the water from the lentils, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Add the lemon juice and approximately 1 tablespoon of olive oil (to taste - I don't like to much!).  Just before serving, over a high heat, stir in the herbs and spinach, until wilted.


Smashed Potatoes


New potatoes (with skin on) 2-3 per person
Garlic olive oil spray
Parmesan cheese


Boil the potatoes, until tender.  Drain.


Line a baking tray with baking paper - lightly spray with the garlic olive oil spray.  Smash the potatoes roughly on the tray.  Spray with the garlic spray - bake for 20-25 minutes or until they start to turn golden.  Top with a small amount of parmesan cheese and bake for a further 5 - 10 minutes.

So after all that, does anyone have room for dessert - I know "The Darlings" do!!
As I had some Buttermilk left from the chicken earlier in the week I trawled the internet looking for a recipe that would use up both my bananas (that were starting to head past their use by date) and the leftover Buttermilk.

Here is what I came up with.


Banana and Buttermilk Cake


100g butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg
2-3 bananas, mashed (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bi-carb soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg


Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.


Grease and flour a 19cm square cake tin.


In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar.  Beat in the egg, vanilla and mashed banana.  Sift remaining dry ingredients together, and add to the banana mixture, mix until just combined.


Spread into the prepared pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.


Dust with icing sugar, serve with either whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

By now, who cares about the weather outside - we are warm and our bellies are full!