Banana fall on you
Michelle Phetlhe | Tuesday April 12, 2022 06:00
Not only do I always think about that last touch as I remove a beautiful golden loaf from the oven, but this time I simply didn’t have enough bananas to flex my decorative efforts. When it's cold outside on a cloudy day, I know you say to yourself, what can make me feel good. Big, hearty, meals, fried foods, bread, soups and beans are some common go to’s. The boys really like bananas so when we buy, re reka a box and it never lasts long. Every once in a while they don’t finish them and I’ll put them in the fridge for a smoothie. In a case where no one wants a smoothie and I have some baking ingredients, I whip up banana Muffins. Bran banana muffins or my personal favourite banana bread.
A slice or two of the warm loaf straight out of the oven simply tastes like heaven. On a chilly day with a hot cup of coffee or hot chocolate, there is nothing that compares. I put the box of leftover black and brown skinned bananas into the fridge. I suspect following that, after two days passed, someone thought I’d forgotten them because I found them on the way to the dustbin. I took out my simple banana bread recipe and got to baking. Few ingredients, easy prep. The baking time takes up most of the time, but it’s worth it.
You can mix everything in one bowl and can vary the amount of sugar or bananas. And the secret to its great flavour? Melted batter. The beauty of this banana bread recipe is that you don't need a fancy mixer! One can use a fork to whisk the eggs, and a sturdy spoon to mix the butter are all you need. The sugar amount is flexible. The original recipe called for a cup of white sugar, but most people, including me, use less, I used 1/8 of a cup. It's better to use less sugar because banana is quite a sweet fruit, and when it cooks and bakes all the natural sugar caramelises and gives a wonderful result. Happy baking, and Happy Easter holidays.
INGREDIENTS
2 to 3 medium very ripe bananas, peeled (about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups mashed)
1/3 cup butter, unsalted or salted, melted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (not baking powder)
1 pinch salt
1/8 Cup brown sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups cake flour
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 175°C In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until completely smooth. Stir the melted butter into the mashed bananas. Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour at 175°C or until a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. A few dry crumbs are okay; streaks of wet batter are not. If the outside of the loaf is browned but the centre is still wet, loosely tent the loaf with foil and continue baking until the loaf is fully baked. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for a few minutes. Then remove the banana bread from the pan and let cool completely before serving. Slice and serve. (A bread knife helps to make slices that aren't crumbly.) Wrapped well, the banana bread will keep at room temperature for four days. For longer storage, refrigerate the loaf up to five days, or freeze.