Banana Loaf

I love baking with Bananas. The sweet aroma that sifts through the house when the dough is in the oven, is so heavenly! Sis-in-law got me a nice non-stick loaf pan from Singapore and I wanted to bake a loaf using that while she was home... what better recipe to choose than ones with bananas. I picked this recipe from joyofbaking.com. I replaced the APF with wheat flour and omitted the nuts.

Banana Bread Recipe Adapted from joyofbaking.com:

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups (230 grams) wheat flour

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3 ripe large bananas (approximately 1 pound or 454 grams), mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Banana Bread Recipe: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Since I use a convection oven and a dark metallic non-stick pan, I reduced the temperature settings to 170 degrees C. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. I did not grease the pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. (The important thing is not to over mix the batter. You do not want it smooth. Over mixing the batter will yield tough, rubbery bread.) Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake until bread is golden brown and a  toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 1 - 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf.

Verdict:

You can't go wrong with this recipe. The loaf is lovely crumbly and sweet and the aroma of baked bananas is irresistible even at room temperature.

October Punch - Jam Tart

  

Jam tarts... Well this is the first time I am baking tarts... I am not too fond of jam, but I decided to go with it until I get the hang of baking the tart shell...

It turns out the recipe is deceptively simple. The required quantity of flour and butter + a few drops of water, does not make a smooth dough. Adding butter to the dough, will make it very crumbly
and you can't get a single tart in full shape. Adding water to it and kneading will make the tarts hard. So the idea is to make a crumbly mixture and line the tart tins with that mix,
It eventually binds well as we line the tart tins... I got it right in the second attempt. The first time around, I added half a teaspoon butter extra and not a single tart came out of the tin intact.

Tricky as it may seem, once you get the principle right, you can't go wrong with this recipe. My little girl loved the jam. She licked all the jam alone with her finger tips and left the shells.
So I made some chocolate ganache too as the tart filling for a change. Stay tuned to see how that turned out :)

Without any more ado, here is the recipe from Ria's blog:

Ingredients:

Flour-115g - that is about 0.9 cups ( I took 1 cup sifted flour )
Butter-60g [chilled ] ( that is about 1/2 cup + 1/2 teaspoon )
Baking powder-1/2tsp
Water-4-5 drops
Jam

Method:

    Mix flour and baking powder together.
    Add the butter and rub it with your fingertips till it resembles breadcrumbs.
    Add a few drops of water but avoid kneading the dough. Even if it is crumbly it will bind well as you line the tart tins.
    Line the tart tins and fill 2/3 of the tart with jam. ( I divide the dough into 12,
and spread in each tart tin separately by rotating the tin and spreading the dough at the same time)
    Bake at 180 degress for 15 mins or till done.
    De-mould when cooled. This helps get the tart shells intact without the edges crumbling. Additionally you do not want your skin scorched by molten jam.

Tarts are ready to be devoured :)

If you are an ardent jam fan, this one is for you.


Verdict: This one is a simple yet elegant snack. A sure winner.