Are you an adventurous dunker?

They say when it comes to morning teas, afternoon teas or supper, there are only 2 types of person, the dunker, and the non-dunker. If you're the later, then a little explanation for you:
to dunk, is to dip biscuit, bread, cakes etch into beverages like coffee, milk or tea. The dunking, can soften the biscuit, and hence, able to enhance the flavours to particularly dry biscuits, bread or cake. One of my greatest childhood pleasure was to dunk heaps of "ping pong" brand soda biscuits into hot Milo. Later when I was a little bigger, and demand for better dunking biscuits like Oreo into milk. As i was getting older, i also have experimented with almost every dunking biscuits with different beverages. Lately, i fall in love with a whole new level of dunking activities, i discovered that dunking banana into hot mocha creates a wonderful taste sensation. I know it sounded a bit awful, but if you have not tried it before, i urge you to try it just once. You may like it, you may not, it doesn't hurt to try! I am totally addicted to the strong coffee aroma that comes with biting into the banana.


That is why, when i come across this banana coffee bread recipe from Australia Good Food Magazines, I know i just have to bake it. and yes, it's not a typo, it's suppose to be a bread, and to be baked into the bread loaf tin, but I don't have the big loaf tin, and I just happen to buy a silicon baba cake mould. So, it came out looking like a cake, but with the texture of banana bread. This cake/bread is also very moist, and have a very light texture, laden with coffee and banana aroma. If you remember my mission to use up the wattle seeds from the pantry, then you won't be surprise i also added wattle seed, to further boost the coffee aroma.



Coffee Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 cup mashed very ripe banana
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup wholemeal flour
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarb soda
• 2 tbsp finely ground espresso coffee ( i use instant espresso coffee )
  
• 1 tbsp wattle seeds

Methods:

1. Preheat oven to 190 degree Celsius, grease and line a large loaf tin, or a 22cm baba tin
2. Whisk together the eggs, sugar and oil until smooth.
3. Add banana, sour cream and vanilla. Stir until combined.
4. Sift the flours, baking powder, bicarb soda and wattle seeds. Add in the coffee.
   
5. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir until all combined.
   
6. Pour mixture into the prepared tin, and bake for 50-60 mins. Cool in pan before turning it out. If using the baba mould, turn it upside down and leave to cool.
   

It's perfectly fine to serve it just like that, warm or cold with a dollop of cream and dusting with icing sugar, but I'm trying to be fancy and a drizzle the cake/bread with custard, and decorated with fresh sliced banana.
yeap, i love banana; and coffee.

Chocolate Banana Bread

3 days is all it takes for my bananas to go from firm,bright yellow to sad looking, black and sluggish little fellas when the temperature hit the roof. As we're in the time of recession, I'm not about to throw them away, also, the worst looking over rippen bananas, often makes the most delicious banana bread. So i thought, why not?! After all, banana bread is so loved by all family members, and is super easy to bake! I also throw in some left over dark chocolate chip and walnuts from the pantry, for extra texture.



Chocolate Banana Bread

Ingrediants:

• 1 1/2 cups wholemeal SR flour
• 2/3 cups brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp mixed spice
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup oil
• 3/4 cup mashed banana ( about 3-4 over ripen bananas )
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup walnuts, break into tiny pieces.

Methods:

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degree celcius. Grease and line a 10cm x 20cm loaf tin with baking paper.
2. Sift flour into a bowl, add in sugar, mixed spice and bicarbonate of soda. Combine everything and make a well in the centre.
3. In a big jug, whish the eggs, milk and oil together.
4. Pour the eggs mixture into the flour, stir through banana, chocolate chips and walnuts.
5. Use a ballon whisk to combine everything, but take care not to over mixed it.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared tin, and bake in the oven for about 50 mins, or until tested with a skewer in the middle of the cake, comes out clean.
7. Remove from the oven, leave it to cool before turning out from tin.
8. Serve warm, or serve left overs toasted with butter.

I always prefer my banana bread lightly toasted, but husband likes it soft and warm, straight from the oven. Whatever way you like, this is a very good bread for breakfast, morning teas or afternoon teas. In our case, supper!

Go Banana

I dunno when have i develop a love for banana bread. Particullary, served toasted with a dash of honey and butter. I have been baking and testing a lot of banana bread recipes, this is by far, the best recipe ever, with dates and pecan nuts added to it. It calls for wholemeal flour, but still comes out of the oven moist, and soft. It's just plain wonderful, and i look fwd to have it for breakfast every saturday! The only downside of me not having banana bread every weekend is that the banana don't seems to be over-ripen during this god forshaken winter cold!! Sigh***

Banana Date and Pecan Bread

125g low fat spread
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 ½ cups wholemeal self raising flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)
½ cup coconut
½ cup low fat milk or buttermilk
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup chopped dried pitted dates

1. Preheat oven to moderate 180C. Lightly grease a 10 x 20cm loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream spread and sugar together using an electric mixer, until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Sift flour and spice together, returning husks to mixture. Fold into creamed mixture with bananas, coconut, milk, nuts and dates. Spoon into prepared pan.
4. Bake for 50-60 minutes until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool in pan and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Serve sliced plain or toasted. Store in an airtight container or wrap and freeze.

( recipe adapted from Everyday Food Mag )