Friday, April 20, 2007

Banana Bread

What to do when they get spotty all over and leave the faintly sickly sweet aftertaste and make you gag from the squishiness? [Yes I have banana perfection issues]

Preparation time: 30 min [if you, like moi, are sadly bereft of an electric beater. Otherwise I'd say 10]
Baking time: 50 min or so

4 ripe to overripe bananas
2 1/2 cups wholewheat flour
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract/essence
1/2 tsp baking soda [cheat and use 1 1/2 of baking powder if you cant be arsed to get the soda]
2/3 cup sugar
1 stick butter [sorry I didn't translate into cups]
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350F*. In a bowl beat the eggs till frothy or whatever makes your OCD behave. Add sugar, and beat some more. Add butter, I like to use it melted because it makes the batter easier to manipulate. Beat some more. Get all that anger/frustration out. Mash the bananas and add them. Start adding the flour, mixed with the baking soda and baking powder while folding it in. Again, if it's an electric beater, just chuck and whizz. If you're doing it by hand, use a spatula and just keep folding, lift it up from the bottom and bring it over to the top, endlessly till it all looks smushed and grossly lumpy from the bananas. Use the milk to moisten the batter periodically if the flour makes it too thick. Use the milk anyway, it's part of the recipe. :D Add the vanilla extract. Stir it up. Grease [or not, I forgot and nothing evil happened] your baking dish of choice and bung it in the oven. I'd advise checking on it at 40 and 45 min. Stick a knife in and if it comes out cleanly it's done. Might not be perfectly clean since banana bread is essentially gooey. One good way to check is if its coming away from the sides.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd enjoy!

Some variations:
Food Alchemist likes to use elaichi, cardomom I think tis called, though I can never be sure.
I add some cinnamon powder sometimes, and this time I stuck in some chopped walnuts.

Now if you'll excuse me, we're having the first glorious day in a while and there's a cup of coffee and a park bench with my name on them, calling me!

*Appylollyogies for the Farenheit, it's just easier cos here everything works that way. I think I'd go with 150 C.

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