Banoffee blondies...sheer heaven

Ok, so if you haven't ever eaten banoffee then you are really missing out on one of life's greatest desserts. I mean banana and toffee were really just made for each other and that's where the whole banoffee idea came from. This version of banoffee is a little different to the pie version but it still has all the amazing flavours in there. The only problem I have with making these is the use of the dulce de leche because as we all know it involves boiling the be-jeepers out of cans of condensed milk for hours and hours. However, luckily for me, I got to have the cheaters way out as I was able to get my hands on some soft toffees which I could melt down in the microwave and put into the blondies. I love when you get an easy way out!

Banoffee Blondies (from raspberri cupcakes, makes approx 20) 

115g (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted 1/2 cup (110g) packed light-brown sugar 

1/3 cup sugar 

1 large egg 

1 tsp pure vanilla extract 

1/2 cup ripe banana, mashed (about 1 medium banana) 

1 cup (130g) plain flour (spooned and leveled) 

1 tsp salt 

1 cup chocolate chips 

1/4 cup dulce de leche or soft toffees

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line 9 x 9 inch baking pan with a piece of baking paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Butter paper. 

In a large bowl, lightly whisk butter and sugars until smooth. Whisk in egg and vanilla and mashed banana. Add flour and salt; stir just until moistened (do not overmix). Fold in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top. Use a teaspoon to place dollops of dulce de leche (or melted soft toffees) over the top of the batter. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Bake until top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean (25 - 30 mins). Leave to cool on a wire rack. Slice and enjoy!

Almond butter granola bars

So, I've been struggling recently with sensitivities to gluten and yeast and have been making a big effort to seek out healthy alternatives. I mean just because you have to reorganise your diet shouldn't mean you have to cut out everything mildly delicious. I've always loved granola bars. They are a handy inbetween meal snack that makes you feel full and satisfied. However, the ones sold in supermarkets are full of strange ingredients and lots of sugar. So, I decided to make my own. Truth be told, these are even more delicious than ones I've bought in the supermarket. Perhaps tasting even better because I know exactly what went into them. I based these on a recipe I found online but changed the nuts/seeds that went into it.

I started off by making my own almond butter by just chucking a load of almonds in the food processor and remembering to be patient while the nuts go through their various stages before reaching butter. Then this goes in a pot with two mashed bananas and is heated gently to soften it up. I like to add a splash of vanilla and a sprinkling of cinnamon to ring out flavours. While the butter and banana is gently heating I throw into a bowl lots of nuts, seeds, some wheat free oats, cranberries and to be just a little bit naughty some chopped up dark chocolate. 

Then pour your melted butter and banana onto your oat and but mix and mix thoroughly. Then put into an oiled brownie tin and press down. Pop into the oven for 20 minutes. Remove and let cool. Slice up into bars and refrigerate. These last in the fridge for quite a while and I usually get a week out of them.

Almond Butter Granola Bars

1/2 cup almond butter

2 bananas, mashed

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup flaxseed meal

1/2 cup cranberries

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

80g chopped dark chocolate

Heat oven to 180 degrees. Oil a brownie tin.

Heat banana and almond butter until soft and well combined.

Place nuts, seeds, oats, chocolate and cranberries in a bowl and mix together.

Add banana and butter and mix thoroughly. Press mixture into tin and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Cool and slice into bars.

Store in the fridge and devour shamelessly when hungry.

Baby Banana Bundt cakes with dark chocolate icing

Yes, it's been awhile since I posted on here but then again I did move and start a new job. The new job was nothing compared to the new city I find myself in. Jakarta, or as some call it 'the big durian' is a melting pot of everything - people, food, traffic, noise, street sellers, motorbikes and it never sleeps. You can find out more about my adventures in Jakarta here.

However, the good news is that I managed to find myself an apartment to live in with a gas oven. I don't have a huge amount of experience working with gas ovens so the first few cooking adventures have been a getting to know you better experiment. Gas ovens get very hot. When you put them in an apartment that is average sized but has an open kitchen concept. Well, it turns the whole living space into, well, an oven. It gets insanely hot. Plus I have found things cook very quick with gas.The heat seems so much more intense than an electric oven and I guess that's because under there is a whole circle of flames.

Nevertheless, I will not be deterred and I will conquer baking with gas.

Today, I wanted to make some banana bread. I love banana bread. There is something so comforting and satisfying about it. I found a recipe on a blog called Cannella Vita which I started following recently and the recipe seemed so simple but yet got such good reviews. I like simple, especially when I am too busy worrying about the oven part of the baking process. 

If there is one thing ican say with my hand on my heart, it is that I have found THE perfect banana for baking banana bread. It grows here in Indonesia and is called pisang ambon or Ambon banana. Yes, when you go to the supermarket here in Jakarta you can find up to five or six different kinds of bananas for sale. They range in size, thickness of skin and shape. However, pisang ambon is the king of them all in my eyes when it comes to baking. I made banana bread back in Dublin but it never had the same taste or colour as banana bread here. This particular banana turns the bread this lovely dark golden colour compared to the paler shade I always got in Ireland.

This recipe turned out just perfect. The bread was very moist and the only difference I made to the recipe was to add a half teaspoon of cinnamon (because for me it goes so well with bananas) and a teaspoon of vanilla (because it goes well with everything). I also baked it in my fabulous, best buy ever, mini Bundt silicone tray. This silicone Bundt tray bakes everything perfectly and lets face it, who doesn't want to have their very own portion of banana bread shaped in a cute little Bundt.

Of course, to really pimp up banana bread there is nothing like a good smear of dark chocolate spread and a sprinkling of walnuts to send it over the edge. Yum...

Brown rice flour banana bread...experiments into the healthier side of life continue...

So after my success with the spelt flour cookies, I thought it was time to give the bag of brown rice flour lurking with intent at the back of the cupboard a go. You can't usually go wrong with banana bread. So I found a recipe using brown rice flour. It was fairly easy to make as most banana bread is and I had it in the oven in no time at all. I felt like my bananas could have been a bit larger but I had to make do with the two little ones in the fruit bowl. I liked the addition of the peanut butter because I think it goes very well with banana. I didn't have milk chocolate chips so I just hacked up a dark chocolate bar and put that in. It seemed to take ages to bake and I had to cover the top about half way through with tin foil because it seemed to be browning a tad too quickly. Once it was out and cooled a little, it was time for the taste test. I can't say that I particularly noticed the brown rice flour, it doesn't have a strong taste at all. I think spelt has a far more nutty taste to it than brown rice flour. There was no change in texture which I was pleased about as I had read that sometimes this particular flour can have a gritty texture. I felt the bread was a little bit dry, but nothing that a good cup of tea or coffee with my slice didn't remedy. I would definitely tweak the recipe next time to try and get a moist bread. It has however, inspired me to continue my healthy experimentations with alternatives flours and I will see what I can seek out in the local health shop.

Road trip sustenance...banana almond bundt cake

This is for a picnic we'll be having tomorrow on a road trip to the Cliffs of Moher in the west of Ireland. How can you NOT make a bundt cake when visiting cliffs? Is this generous delight not a reminder of those wondrous natural features? Anyway, haven't tasted it yet, but it sure smelled delicious coming out of the oven...will update tomorrow...

Marbled Banana Chocolate Bundt Cake...now there's a mouthful!

banana and chocolate, chocolate and banana...always a good combination in my book and in this bundt cake a little bite of perfection in every piece. i've been making this recipe for a while now and it is a firm favourite in my household and is frequently requested...again i am blessed to be living in a country where when you go to the supermarket there is a selection of maybe 5 or 6 different types of bananas on sale and each variety perfect for different uses. i think this is the secret that makes this cake so good. i use pisang ambon, which means banana ambon, ambon being a place in Indonesia where the banana comes from. the bananas are deliciously sweet and soft and the longer you leave them the more sweeter the taste. the original recipe calls for 4 mashed bananas, i use 6 when i make this because the bananas gives such a lovely moistness to the cake as well as the addition of a cup of yoghurt. there's something about bundt cakes...they just look so comforting and adorable that i love making cakes in my super-expensive but most worth it bundt pan...ABSOLUTE comfort food!

thai pineapple curry banana bread...devilishly divine!

so what do you do when you read on another blog, in this case the fabulous Not Quite Nigella, about a recipe that seems sure to tantalise the taste buds in a variety of ways? why you get out your mixing bowl and start making it, that's what! i mean how could i resist this recipe...curry pineapple banana bread??? the name itself conjures up a mixture of reactions ranging from the thoughts in your head...how can there be curry in a cake? to the impending taste on your tongue...hmmm, curry and banana...ok, ok...there's a possibility it could work...so i jsut had to find out for myself. the recipe originally came from an entry by Catherine from Clever Monkey Studio in a competition that was held on the blog...a banana bread bake-off, where everyone submitted entries based on their favourite banana breads. i entered it but don't remember seeing this recipe until it popped up last week on Not Quite Nigella's blog and my curiosity was piqued...i knew i had to give it a go.

and what a treat...i mean really, this has to be one of the nicest banana breads i have tasted in a long time. from the moment i started making it, there was surprise after surprise. i mean, the way you mix the ingredients for starters seems to be all back-to-front...start with the wet ingredients, end with the dry? but i have faith so i followed and the final batter was lovely and thick, with that beautiful orange tinge that can only come from the addition of the curry powder. and then 3 tablespoons of curry powder, i mean it seemed so excessive? could it really need that much? but in it went...as per instructions...

well, the smell of it baking in the oven was really enough to produce enough saliva to...umm, not sure where i can go with that...but you know what i mean. it was heavenly. rich and spicy and aromatic. and then when it came out...all golden and cracking open...oh, did i really have to wait for it to cool. i mean where was my brother when i needed him?...the one who always demands instant cutting of cakes...

and once i had a peek inside...oh it was better than opening the cover of a brand new book...those pieces of pineapple had become little blobs of soft, jammy, gooey stuff and the bread was rich and dark, and the smell...the bananas came through so wonderfully but then there was that faint hint of the curry. and that first mouthful...oh, divine upon divine...i loved it. not too sweet, but oh-so-flavourful...this is definitely to be made again...and if you know what's good for you...you'll get those mixing bowls out and be inspired to make one too!

Thai Pineapple Curry Banana Bread

3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp coconut milk powder (or unsweetened coconut)
1 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp curry powder
1/2 cup chopped pineapple
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 325F. Spray Mix with spoon in a large bowl, melted butter, mashed bananas and coconut milk powder. Mix in sugars, egg, lime juice and curry powder. Add pineapple and mix. Mix in baking soda. Add the flour and mix. Pour into greased 4x8 loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on rack before removing from pan.

bring back banoffi! bring back banoffi!

so these are the words i have been hearing for the longest time from family...bring back banoffi! they have unanimously decided that this is their absolute favourite cupcake of all...the diva of all cupcakes simply because it is so luscious and rich and just oozing attitude! my hubby has been telling me that friends at work were wondering whether i am on strike as they haven't tasted any cupcakes in a while and i guess i kinda have been. it felt like my baking mojo had left me there for awhile...but it seems to be back in all its splendour and that can only be a good thing as far as all my fans are concerned!
so it seems the friends at work also wanted to taste the magnificent, diva-licious banoffi cupcakes and so i set to work yesterday making them using the same recipe as before which you can find here. these really are easy to make...the cupcake recipe doesn't involve any of that creaming butter shenanigans and the most time consuming part is actually cutting the cone and filling with toffee sauce. there's no icing as i prefer to use cream to make it more like a real banoffi pie so you just have to whip up the cream in the mixer and pipe it on. and yes, this time i did pipe it on (as opposed to last time when i just kind elegantly dumped it on!) and it did look so much nicer...like a 99 ice-cream that i used to buy here when i was on holidays in the summer months (maybe i need to make a tribute to one of those!)
well, hubby has just sent a message and said that his colleagues all had to take one out and share so they could do a taste test..they couldn't wait for break time and they absolutely loved it. just the kind of feedback i like to hear!

i'm still waiting for my amano chocolate to arrive so hopefully it hasn't melted en route...and hopefully will have something nice and chocolate-y to brew up with that. plus i recently managed to pick up some chamomile infused chocolate and am mulling ideas for a chamomile inspired cupcake.

showin' some nutella lovin'...decadent nutella banana bread

life without nutella is well....just not worth living in my opinion. nutella is definitely one of those things i cannot live without. i used to work in a school in singapore with a great bunch of girls who were all nutella-addicts. it was so great...when we'd have breaks they'd go around with the nutella jar and a loaf of bread and let everyone get their fix.
so my family are still talking about that amazing banana bread that i've been making recently so i wanted to make some last night to have ready for Sunday morning. and of course, the full nutella jar sitting in the cupboard came to mind...i mean nutella jars are just not meant to be full EVER (except of course when they are on the supermarket shelf!)
so i used the avoca banana bread recipe you can find here except this time just swirled nutella through the batter and then because i had some left, drizzled butterscotch over the top. totally decadent! i mean totally, but gosh, just so good. the nutella was fabulous with that nutty chocolate flavour and completely complemented the bananas and pecans.
it was just such a great start to Sunday morning!

i think i'm going banana-nanas!

can you imagine?...i was ordered last night to make ANOTHER banana bread and believe you me, i am never one who is very good at orders...but it was that good and disappeared that fast that some of the unhappy population of the household felt that they would like some more. of course, me being me, i couldn't make it exactly the same as the day before (i really couldn't...i had no more of those honey roasted pecans!) so i thought i would experiment with something else i picked up at the market on sunday...some bewitching butterscotch sauce! i just had to get a jar of this (along with another one called 'cheeky chocolate'!) because not only did the packaging look so cute, but they had open jars for tasting and i was able to experience first hand the lovely buttery toffee flavour...scrumptious...

i especially liked the little warning on the side of the jar...

so, being the huge glutton that i am (well, at least i admit it!) i decided to make the basic recipe same as yesterday with just regular pecans but this time swirl some of the butterscotch sauce through the batter once it was in the mould. then of course, being the even bigger glutton that i am, i thought how lovely it would be to drizzle some (lots!) over the chopped pecans on TOP of the banana bread. so i did...and when it came out of the oven last night it was so shiny and glistening from where the butterscotch had heated up and attached the pecans very stickily to the top.

ONCE AGAIN, i was driven near mad to cut the bread before it had properly cooled (younger brothers, huh! who'd have them?) and he gobbled down two slices with a nice tall cold glass of milk. i thought i would refrain and have a nice piece for breakfast in the morning, when it had set properly and i sure am glad i did. this was lovely...bananas and butterscotch...do you really need to ask for anything more after that? i shall be back to pick up more of that butterscotch sauce for sure and perhaps some others i spied there including a passionfruit spread!

for the recipe please see below...i really am going bananas and think i have probably had my Recommended Yearly Allowance of bananas in the past 2 days! blame it on the Banana Bread Bakeoff, that's what i say!

cupcakes take a back seat while Banana Bread rides up front to the Banana Bread Bakeoff!

ok, so i'm ALWAYS up for a foodie event and when i encouraged my friend in blogdom, Not Quite Nigella to host a Banana Bread Bakeoff...well i couldn't very well NOT participate. so the event was for Banana Bread and to be honest, i've never made it before in the loaf form...i've made banana cupcakes but it didn't really feel like the same thing. there is something so wholesome and good about slicing up a loaf of bread. so i hid the cupcake cases away and dusted off a silicone loaf mould that i found abandoned and long since unused at the bottom of one of the cupboards. i also thought about what recipe i wanted to use. i searched the internet and found many, many recipes...how to choose? then i thought about looking for a recipe from closer to home. one of my favourite places to eat in Ireland is at the Avoca Cafes. there are a whole string of them around our island and the food is just so good and homely (you might remember that i posted about the one in Powerscourt which i visited on my birthday) so i figured their recipe in the Avoca Cafe Cookbook has got to be good.

so i located their banana bread recipe and set to work. the recipe was SUPER easy to follow and do...no mixer, nothing...just a little bit of arm work and then again, not much of that either. i must admit though that i started to freak out a bit when i saw the consistency of the batter...it was so...THICK! this serves me right for being a cupcake addict...i have obviously forgotten that one consistency does not suit all! i had this moment of 'oh no, my banana bread is going to be a banana brick...heavy and dense!' but was i ever wrong? the recipe called for pecans and i was lucky that while at the market (buying up the fudge store) i also spied the nut stall and bought some honey roasted pecans which really were to die for. they were crunchy, sweet and just perfect for putting in banana bread. you might just be able to make them out in the second row, extreme right of the photo.

the pecans were so good that as well as putting them in the batter i also sprinkled them on top of the banana bread before baking. the result when the bread came out of the oven was lovely!

then came the taste test...(it is so hard to leave anything to cool properly in my parents house, because there is a horde of hungry feasters who are always just dying to dig into the lastest creation!) i think i probably could have left it to cool longer, but as mentioned, there were tongues hanging out (after the amazing aroma that filled the house) waiting in anticipation. when i sliced in, the bread was still very soft and warm but very moist and again the aroma was fabulous. a rich banana smell twinged with cinnamon, take a peek-a-boo inside...

the taste was really really good. my brother demanded a second piece straight away! the amount of banana was perfect (i mean c'mon, i want my banana bread to taste of banana!) and with that bit of cinnamon, it gave you such a warm feeling. the honey roasted pecans were perfect! they made the outside of the bread crunchy and provided a lovely little crunch throughout the bread as well as a fantastic flavour. i'm guessing you could do these yourself in the oven, but i'm imagining mess and goo and everything else that usually comes with honey! i didn't mash up the bananas to the point of baby food, so there were still some obvious bits of banana throughout the bread. i like that! to me it feels more wholesome. i will DEFINITELY get that silicone mould out again to bake this because it was so good. i mean, really, anything that was baked by 9pm last night and was gone by 10 am this morning must be good. i'm also going to go back to the nut stall and experiment with some other varieties and maybe try some white chocolate chips in there too. oh, it could be so much fun! the possibilities are endless!

and now for the recipe...

Avoca Cafe Banana Bread

80z plain flour
1 t. salt
1 heaped t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
4oz sugar
1 egg
3 oz butter, melted
few drops of vanilla essence
2 1/2 oz pecan nuts, chopped
4 medium bananas, mashed

preheat your oven to whatever usually works best for you.
sift flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl, stir in sugar.
mix in egg, butter and vanilla essence, but do not beat.
fold in pecans and mashed bananas, using a fork. again do not beat.
spoon into loaf tin and bake for 50-60 mins. leave for 10 mins in the tin and then cool on a wire rack.

it doesn't get much easier than that! devour shamelessly!