Well not that I've suddenly turned professional, but I've tried making brownies, ready-made puff pastries and now banana loaves, and it's suddenly not too difficult. It's just very different from cooking...baking is an exact science - all measurements and weights and numbers, cooking is just 'instinctive'...but that's not a new thing anyway.
Anyway, I thought it was one of those things I'd never get to buy casually in England, because it seems more American than English, and only places like Marks & Spencer and the huge Sainsbury stock them. But at £1.99 per loaf, it has been a rare and far in between treat for me (in comparison, a small loaf of wholemeal bread costs about 79p)
I've once made a banana loaf back in March, but it was less than successful with no enticing banana aroma (or taste!) and was quite soggy. But I intended to try again, and saw a bag of bananas going reduced at Sainsbury and grabbed it. And let 3 of them stand on the side til they were soft and turning dark.
And it turned out beautiful! Quite on par with the ones I've bought! I was haaappy! :D
Here's a photo evidence:
 | ||||
| Rolo enjoying cheese |
Opps, so that's not a banana loaf, just my housemates' hamster, but isn't she so cute?!
This, on the other hand, is the real thing.
That was freshly taken out of the oven, with 3 cheery walnuts on top of the beautiful split. My loaf looked like a work of art. I loathed cutting into it. It was so beautiful I spent minutes upon minutes cooing and fussing over it. Like a baby.
Here's the recipe (which was given to me by my housemate Tim):
Banana Loaf
for a 2lb loaf tin
2-3 large, very ripe bananas, mashed
115g butter or margarine
170g sugar (any type, but demerara gives a better depth of taste)
225g self-raising flour
2 eggs
1 handful of walnuts, chopped (can be omitted).
(I left 3 whole for decoration)
1. Pre-heat oven to 180C
2. Grease the loaf tin
3. Cream together butter and sugar, mix in eggs, then add mashed bananas and walnuts
4. Mix in flour
5. Scrape into tin, bake for 40 minutes, then a further 20 minutes at 150C
6. Cool it, slice it, and devour!
Isn't that beautiful? Or what!
-End of gushing-
