Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Banana Bread

Just realised it's Wordless Wednesday....oops. Can't keep my gob shut for one day.

What do you do when you find these sitting at the bottom of your fruit bowl?

If you're a normal person, you say yeuch and bin them. If your slightly odd and tight as only a Scottish mum of three greedy children can be, you devise weird and wonderful ways to use them up. I settled on Banana Bread.

Banana Bread is straightforward enough to make but you needn't have all the ingredients in your cupboard. As with any recipe, don't go buying an ingredient especially for just one dish you don't know if you'll make again, improvise and use what you have. In this case, Dark Rum is required, which I have...I have every conceivable alcoholic beverage in my drinks cupboard, some so old I could probably sell them as antiques. Before I found the Dark Rum however, I spotted some Malibu...white rum..and would have used this or some whisky instead.


The alcohol is used to soak into the sultanas...I didn't have any so used raisins...and despite the alcohol content, it can be served to children as the amount is small and the fruit acid soaks up the alcohol making it plump and sweet.

Banana Bread (Nigella's Recipe from How to be a Domestic Goddess)
100g sultanas (or raisins)
75ml dark rum or bourbon
175g plain flour (Used some self-raising too as ran out)
2 teaspoons baking powder
Half teaspoon Bicarb of soda (Um...I forgot to put this in....)
Half teaspoon salt
125g unsalted butter, melted
150g sugar
2 large eggs
4 small, very ripe bananas (approx. 300g without skin) mashed
60g chopped walnuts (didn't have any so didn't use)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Loaf tin, buttered and lined...a paper insert would be pretty but I used parchment paper.

Put sultanas or raisins in saucepan with rum and bring to the boil. Take off heat, put lid on and leave for up to an hour to soak and then drain.

Preheat oven to 170oC/gas mark 3.

Put all dry ingredients (except sugar)into a bowl and mix.
In a large bowl, mix the melted butter and sugar and beat well. Beat in eggs one at a time then add mashed bananas. Then stir in the walnuts, drained sultanas and vanilla extract.
Add the flour mixture a third at a time, stirring well each time. Scrape into loaf tin and bake in the middle of oven for 1-1 and a quarter hours. I checked mine with a thin skewer (or toothpick) after 1 hour...it should come out cleanish...and it did. If not, put back in.
Leave to cool. This is one that really needs to cool as it needs to set a bit.
Serve with whatever you like...butter, jam or Nutella. I had jam as did Brian, Lucy ran away screaming, Fraser was out with Sam and Kieran and there is enough left for breakfast. Hurrah!


Edited to add: winners of the wee competition, gifts have been sent! Let me know when you receive. Tammi, yours will go next week as I only just got your address. Thank you peeps!

9 comments:

JennyMac said...

Looks absolutely perfect. And Wordless Wednesdays would be completely lost on me too.

Two Pretty Little Skirts said...

I love banana bread, my fav recipe
Stoppin by from SITS to say hey, c'mon over tomorrow and have a go at my Thumbnail Thursdays.
Dawn

Brunch at Saks said...

This looks absolutely amazing and yummy! I am going to try out this recipe sometime this weekend! Great post :) XOXO

Sit A Spell said...

Hi! I popped over from Sany toes. You have a great blog...I'll be back when I have more time to spend. It's late here in America and I really need some sleep.

OH...I love to make homemade banana bread, thanks for sharing your recipe. A slice of that and a cuppa sounds lovely!

Claudya Martinez said...

Too funny, I have a bunch of bananas that need to be turned in to banana bread waiting for me in the kitchen.

Stacey said...

Yummy! I love banana bread!

Helen McGinn said...

Wow, 6 comments! Thanks guys. Gone to nosey around your blogs and there ain't nothin' you can do to stop me! ;O) xx

FionaOutdoors said...

Can you be my mummy for a day or two? It would be fab to have someone make such yummy food! Fi :-) xx
PS loved the lesser spotted Glaswegian story. So perfect!

Helen McGinn said...

Fi...you forget, I've seen your cake on your blog...pretty amazing! But I'll cook for you anytime.
xx