Easy Banana Bread

Easy Banana Bread

3 bananas, very ripe
200g brown sugar
150g butter
2 eggs
240g flour
10ml baking powder
1,2ml salt

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a 13cm x 23cm loaf tin with baking paper.
Peel the bananas and place them in a mixing bowl.
Now beat them with an electric whisk until completely mushed.
Add the sugar, butter and eggs and lightly beat the mixture together on low speed. Set aside.
Add the flour, baking powder and salt to another bowl and stir to mix.
Add one or two spoonfuls of the dry ingredients to the banana mixture while beating on a low speed. Keep adding and beating until all is incorporated.
Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 50 minutes.
Cool the loaf in the baking tin for 15 minutes and then remove it and cool completely on a cooling rack.
Serve thick slices of banana bread spread with salted butter.

Pistachio, Date and Honey Cake

Pistachio, Date and Honey Cake

175g butter, cubed
100g brown sugar
30ml + 15ml honey
2 eggs
225g self-raising flour
2,5ml ground cinnamon
2 ripe bananas
100g stoned dates
50g pistachio nuts, roughly chopped

Preheat your oven to 160℃ and line a medium loaf tin with baking paper.
Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together.
Add the honey with the mixer running and then add the eggs one at a time.
Scrape the mixture down and mix for another minute.
Mix the flour and ground cinnamon and add a tablespoon of flour to the mixture while mixing. Continue adding flour until you have none left.
Mash the bananas and cut the dates into small pieces with scissors.
Add the fruit to the the batter and mix for 2 minutes.
Spoon the batter in to the prepared loaf tin and level out the top.
Scatter the pistachios over and bake in the oven for 1 hour 10 minutes – check the loaf with a skewer to see if its done.
Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes before lifting it out of the baking tin.
Drizzle the remaining 15ml honey over the warm cake and allow to cool.
Slice into thick slices and serve along a cup of Turkish coffee.


Apple-Cinnamon Loaf

Apple-Cinnamon Loaf

This is a light fruity loaf that is not too sweet but still ticks all the boxes for a special treat!

500ml flour
125ml sugar
7,5ml baking powder
2,5ml bicarbonate of soda
2,5ml salt
5ml ground cinnamon
250ml buttermilk
1 egg
62ml vegetable oil
250ml dried apple, diced
125ml pecan nuts, chopped

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a 23cm X 13cm loaf tin.
Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cinnamon to a mixing bowl and mix together with a whisk.
Add the buttermilk, egg and vegetable oil to a wide-mouth jug and whisk together until blended.
Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir until all the flour has been incorporated and you are left with a shaggy, wet batter.
Add the chopped apple and nuts and stir through.
Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf tin and pat it into the corners.
Place the loaf in the oven and bake for 50 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow the loaf to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing.
Place on a cooling rack to cool completely.
Dust with icing sugar and serve.