Hello my lovelies and a Happy Summers Sunday to you all. Summer seems to be officially here which makes me so happy and what a way to celebrate with a spot o baking. For me personally, baking is a way to relax and de-stress; it is very therapeutic. I have recently increased my work hours and finding my self with spare time is a rarity at the moment. However, I find myself with a free Sunday morning so the obvious solution is to bake. When I glanced over at the fruit bowl this morning and caught sight of a couple of over ripe bananas the obvious solution for me is banana bread. I personally love banana bread and I haven't made any this year and it is very quick and easy to make. My excitement further grew by finding a pack of un-opened chocolate chips in the cupboard. I can officially say that the jigsaw puzzle is now complete. I have already posted a blog post with a recipe for a Banana, Fudge and White Chocolate Loaf Cake which you can see by clicking here. That was a personal favourite of mine; banana, fudge and white chocolate are my favourite flavour combinations at the moment and who could resist the amazing and ultimate flavour combination in cake form? I thought I would try something a bit different this time by making the banana bread gluten free. I find that gluten free cakes are a lot lighter and are also more moist myself.
I love banana bread and it can be enjoyed in so many different ways. You can really make it your own whether you add chocolate, nuts, dried fruit, spices or the whole cherbang. Next time I have left over bananas I might add some pecan nuts. I love experimenting with new flavour combinations. Once you have a basic banana bread recipe the world is your oyster.
Ingredients
125g unsalted butter
120g caster sugar
3 eggs
2 ripe bananas peeled and mashed
225g Gluten Free plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g milk chocolate chips
Method
1) Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin and preheat your oven to 180°C/ 160°Fan/ Gas mark 4
2) Beat your butter and sugar together until pale, light and fluffy. You could do this with an electric whisk but I find the old fashioned method of a wooden spoon more satisfying and a great way to release any tension
3) Whisk your eggs together and add half of the eggs to your cake batter followed by half of the flour which you should sift into the bowl. Fold the ingredients together followed by the remaining eggs and flour once fully incorporated
4) Add your mashed banana, baking powder, xanthan gum, vanilla extract and cinnamon and fold into the cake batter
5) Finally stir in your chocolate chips, it is essential to test a couple first
6) Pour your cake batter into the loaf tin and bake for 50 - 60 minutes until golden brown and a skewer is clean after being inserted into the centre of the cake. If you think the top of the cake is cooking too quick and looking a dark brown before the cake is cooked you could cover the cake with foil to stop it from burning
7) Once cooked leave your cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire wrack to cool completely. Once the cake has cooled you can slice the loaf and enjoy!
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post my lovelies. I won't lie to you but banana bread is a personal favourite of mine. I love the beautiful banana flavour which goes so amazingly with the melted milk chocolate. The cake is so moist and it also keeps for a really long time. Perfect for the cake tin to crack out in times of need of comfort or a pick-me-up. I would love to know in the comments if you tried this recipe or what your favourite flavour combinations are to add to your banana bread. I hope you all enjoy the rest of this amazing Summer's Sunday.
XXX
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