What do you do when you have too many bananas in the house?
What do you do when you’re eccentric and at 1 in the night, you suddenly wanna bake?
What do you do when your OCD will not allow you to make banana bread without chocolate chips or walnuts and raisins?
Yes, you’re on point.
You go to the Grocery Store that for people like you and me stay open 24×7, and get the necessary ingredients. Then, freaking your roommates out, you start baking, hoping to complete it by dawn, so that there’s enough light to capture the pictures.
Before I make you frown your eyebrows, and question my sanity, I will delve right into the recipe, and thank Kate for putting up this perfect Banana Bread recipe on her blog . I followed it to the T, and ended up pleasing my roommate’s mother, which by the way is quite an achievement.
Couple of things to keep in mind before you put on your baking gloves:
- Don’t put on the baking gloves.
- Keep your eggs out of the refrigerator before you start setting up your ingredients.
- This is a healthier version, so all you calorie-conscious people who despise me for the amount of sugar I put in my recipes, know that I am considerate of you too. For those lucky genes that don’t put on weight no matter what, feel free to replace the oil by butter, and honey/maple syrup with cane sugar.
- Maybe you’ll do better baking it some other time than the middle of the night, because you might find yourself dozing off while the bread is taking its time in the oven.
Repeating this from the Walnut Brownie recipe:
So, go ahead, give this a read, and let me know how it turned out for you!
Note: The method section may seem unusually long if you’re one of those who just skim articles to find the actual recipe (I am one of those too), but have a little patience, and I promise you won’t regret it!
INGREDIENTS:
- A kitchen, well-stocked on basic ingredients that proves that you cook occasionally
- Gluttony or need for self-validation
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 2 large mashed ripe bananas
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Ground cinnamon, depending on your taste
- 1 3/4 cups white wheat flour or just AP flour
- Chopped walnuts and raisins or chocolate chips or whatever you feel like mixing
INSTRUCTIONS:
Step 1
If impulse is not what is driving you to bake this, wait for a couple of days to ripen the bananas. That way, you can rely on the sweetness of the bananas to make up for the lack of refined sugar.
Step 2
The only thing holding me back from making banana bread was the very sight of mashed bananas. I KID YOU NOT! Everytime that image popped up in front of my eyes, I would withdraw myself from any such endeavour that concerned squishing bananas. Already grossed out? Don’t be! The pain is worth the pleasure (in most cases). After a while, you might even start enjoying putting the fork the right way to get the desired output.
Step 3
Welcome to the baking world, where there are more uses to maple syrup than applying on pancakes! If you’re not a vegan, you also have the option of reaping from the hard work of bees. Mix 1/2 cup honey and 1 cup guilt or 1/2 cup maple syrup with 1/3 cup oil (or applesauce for those who do not attach much importance to taste) in a large bowl and whisk it till they blend in well. The oil can be any flavoured oil, but I would advice to be “safe” and go for a extra-virgin olive oil.
Step 4
Time for the second most difficult bit – cracking the eggs without getting it all over you or getting the egg shells all over the mix. But I have faith in your omlette making ability, so crack 2 eggs, one by one. Blend in well. Mask the ugly looks of the mashed banana by whisking it into the frothy mixture.
Step 5
Vegans can spend a little more, and replace the eggs with flax eggs. The next step involves adding 1/4 cup milk, where again a few bucks more can fetch you almond/soy milk. Of course, I haven’t tried it on my own, but these are pretty much the only options available – so maybe you can give feedbacks of your limitations and how you overcame them?
Step 6
Time to add the smaller stuff – baking soda, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Lastly, bring out that strainer and spatula and sift in 1 and 3/4 cups of flour. Make sure you haven’t advanced a shade in the fairness scale by the time you’re done.
Step 7
If your batter doesn’t look appealing enough, add in a cup of chopped nuts or chocolate chips to make it look more happening and compensate for the lack of flavour. Then pour the batter into a greased loaf pan (oh, what a relief to be able to smell butter again!), and unfurl your inner artist as you sprinkle the cinnamon on top.
Step 8
Bake the bread for roughly 50-60 mins at 325F (165C) till a toothpick inserted comes out 85% clean. Controlling my urge to crack a pun, I would just say that the 85% ensures that your bread is moist, and not dry. The subsequent cooling for 10 mins helps to do the remaining cooking, if needed.
NOTE: Don’t forget about the bread in the oven though (I almost did, and hence the warning), because then you all your efforts will burn just like the bread.
Step 9
Before your ever-hungry roommate tries to grab a bite, hide it from his sight and cool on the wire rack for another 30 minutes before you proceed to slice it. Savour the taste, and thank chemistry and your culinary skills for blending in something like banana into a creation so delicious!
Liked it👍….Like the funny and innovative way of stating recipe 😍 though not sure if I could motivate myself to start working on it…🤓
Haha, thanks! The idea was to not make it sound like the regular recipes. But this one was really good and moist, and not much work either! You should definitely try!
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