Sunday, August 17, 2008

banana business

it goes without saying that there are probably a million or more recipes for banana breads around — everyone having his/her own favourite version. banana bread is something which i only really make whenever i have bananas that are fully ripe or over-ripened and while it's not an item i'd runnnn to the kitchen to bake on a regular basis, it is one of those staple kind of any-time-of-the-day snacking cakes, good for mid morning coffee breaks or late night kitchen raids which i do enjoy baking a few times a year.

the following recipe, which comes from a friend, is as particularly good as it is surprising since there are no dairy products in it or is there very much fat to speak of. in fact, it only uses 1/3 c of oil for a whole loaf. most of the moisture is provided by the bananas themselves and the honey content. the loaf will stay perfectly good for up to 5 or 6 days, if well-wrapped. it can be sliced and frozen for longer keeping if you like.

if you're organized, this recipe shouldn't take much time at all to throw together. having things premeasured and the baking pan ready saves you a lot of time. in terms of ingredients,
i've added pecans and chocolate chips to the recipe; you can use either, both or none at all and just serve it plain. if you don't have pecans, you can use chopped walnuts. the recipe also uses part whole wheat flour — so, if you're thinking, "yuck!", don't ..... it's quite the opposite. it's healthier and tastes just as good as using only all purpose flour.


no nonsense banana bread

makes 1 loaf

ingredients:

1 c wholewheat + 3/4 c AP flour (or 1 3/4 c all purpose flour)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

2 large bananas, very ripe (or 3 small-ish ones)
2 large eggs (or egg replacement)

1/3 c vegetable oil
1/3 c honey (or brown rice syrup)
1/2 c (soft) brown sugar, packed

optional:

1/2 c coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
1/3 - 1/2 c chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

method:

in large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and soda and salt. set aside.

peel and mash the bananas in another bowl. add the eggs and mix all together well.

in another bowl, mix together the oil, honey and brown sugar. it is easiest to measure the oil first and then the honey - it will slip right out of the measuring cup. at this point, you can mix this into the eggs and banana mixture or keep it separate. either way works. just make sure there are no hard bits of brown sugar (that won't dissolve) as you want the mixture to be uniform. if your brown sugar is not fully soft, you can microwave it (covered) for 15 to 20 seconds first to soften it up.

measure out the nuts and chocolate chips, if using.

before mixing everything together, preheat your oven to 325F and well grease a regular sized loaf pan (approx 8" x 5").

mix the wet ingredients into the dry and combine until all is blended together. do not overmix.

add the nuts and chocolate chips and pour into your greased pan (or muffin pan).

bake at 325 F for approx. 1 1/4 hrs or until the center is cooked -- test with a toothpick.

let cool for at least 20 min before removing.

stays good for several days and can be sliced and frozen.

enjoy!


16 comments:

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

It looks beautiful! A delicious bread to eat without having a bad conscience...

By the way, it's great to read you again!

Cheers,

Rosa

Anonymous said...

Bureka Boy, I am so tempted to try to make this loaf:)

Roo said...

Brilliant - especially as I love bananas but never seem to eat them quick enough, and this looks like the best recipe I have seen.

I have one other question for you too! How in hell's name dig you manage to get the diggit widgety bit onto the bottom of the post? I have tried twice now and given up ... (oh and any instructions need to be in easy to follow language for a 5yr old)

Cheers ;o)

pepsakoy said...

This cake is one of most popular baked goods for Thai people ! I've made it with few different recipes before but none of them fitted my taste...

I will give this one a try ( if I happen to have ripe bananas in hand but honestly,it rarely occurs cuz we always finish all before it becomes ripe..lol)

Nice cake anyway...well done!

Lakshmi said...

I am all tempted to make it now...slurrp!

burekaboy — said...

hi rosa - thanks! :) more stuff to come.... the banana bread is surprisingly GOOD considering how 'healthy' it is! ;))

yael - hope you do try it ;D i don't think you'll regret it.

hi roo - thanks! i actually thought it was going taste like cr*p considering the ingredients but it turns out almost the same as the standard recipes using a lot more fat (butter/oil) and white flour.

as for the other thing re diggit, do me a favour and email me; i can explain it better that way. hope you & yours are well.

pepsakoy - haven't ever tried a thai version of this - i imagine there is coconut milk involved ;) bananas aren't in my top 10 favourite fruit list so i always have over ripened ones around! LOL. hope you like this cake if you do try it. it's good with the chocolate chips :)) btw, you can make it with yellow bananas also - people use ripe/over ripened ones because they tend to have more sugar.

lakshmi - hi there :) thanks for the comment & hope things are well with you! LOL, if i was so tempted to make all the good things i see, i'd be 10,000 lbs!

Sadiq said...

i hv a theory!

those who loves, i mean really really loves banana has some similarities with monkeys!

test my theory and u will see.

burekaboy — said...

mystic saint - LOL, you may be on to something ;) considering human DNA and chimp DNA are 99.something percent similar.....

Anonymous said...

right, i'll have to give it a try...but only because it is one of your things, you know how i feel about the stuff. guess your recipe is wonderful ;)

burekaboy — said...

sari - LOL @ you .... i don't like (ripe) bananas either so it CAN'T be that bad if i'm eating it! besides, you-know-who & company will eat it up if you don't! btw, use ripe ones just getting brown spots or right before that, not the ones that have blackened. eck! this one doesn't have an overly banana-ish flavour.

TopChamp said...

now this one looks more my cup of tea. Cake. Cake goes well with tea actually. Mmm.. tea and cake.

burekaboy — said...

TC - i wish cake was a food group. like a vegetable. imagine how much cake we'd eat then :))

Anonymous said...

b.b. you're a magician!!! i don´t like banana bread too much but made this and it was/is great.added hazelnuts instead of pecans and used almost greenish bananas. amazing how your recipe doesn't taste of over-ripened bananas, magic you make!!!!

burekaboy — said...

sari - nice to see you've been 'converted'! LOL. never thought of using hazelnuts in it. try it one time using the chocolate chips; it will be a good snack for lunches for "you-know-who" back in school! (YAY) - just freeze them. btw, i use the bananas when they just get brown spots and you don't get that overly banana-ish taste from them. anyway, happy u liked it! thanks for the comment. i just hope you don't start growing a tail from all these bananas you're eating! LOL LOL.

Anonymous said...

It looks very good!
I have to give it a try!
By the way I just discovered your blog and I really like it. Great job.

Cali in NY

burekaboy — said...

hi cali - hope you like the results if you decide to give it a try.

i'm glad you liked what you've seen in my blog -- thanks for your nice comment and visit :)