The great thing about the banana is that it is versatile as
well as affordable. Bananas are the ideal fruit for economic baking so without
further ado, here are two of my favourite banana recipes I’d love to share with
you!
Banoffee Pie
This is a big indulgent dessert for a special treat. I was
really pleased with how mine turned out in the end. The whipped cream made for
a pretty finished product! Each slice is deceptively filling but this makes a
great treat to share with friends!
Ingredients:
·
300g Hob Nobs
·
60g butter
·
397g tin Nestle Carnation Caramel
·
3 large bananas
·
350ml double cream
·
100g milk chocolate (or dark if you prefer!)
·
1 tbsp icing sugar
Steps:
1.
Set the oven to 180C.
2.
Crush the Hob Nobs (This is fun by hand though
if you have a food processor it’s less effort.) I suggest using a largish bowl
so bits don’t go flying everywhere and the end of a wooden rolling pin for your
controlled crushing! Take time to make sure the pieces are nice and crumbled.
3.
Add melted butter to “stick” the mixture
together and transfer the butter and biscuit mix to a 24cm baking tin.
4.
Cook for 10-12 minutes until lightly toasted.
5.
Leave it to cool then transfer the base to a
serving plate.
6.
Spread caramel over the cooled base and chill it
for an hour at least.
7.
Slice your bananas and arrange them over the
caramel base.
8.
Whip cream and sugar to form soft peaks and add
the cream to your biscuit, caramel and banana. You can be artistic with this
bit!
9.
Melt your chocolate and drizzle it over the top.
10.
Refrigerate until serving.
Tips:
·
The whipped cream will hold until serving for a
few days, however it’s best to add it just a few hours before serving if it is
for a special occasion as it will gradually sink!
·
The 60g butter is just a guideline – use as much
as required to fully stick the base together.
Banana Bread
There’s a few things about banana bread that you need to
know. Firstly, riper bananas are the best, even over ripe bananas if you have a
few going spare.
I have a few little secrets for my banana bread recipe. To
give it an extra layer of flavour, add some quality darker milk chocolate. My
favourite bar for this is Green & Black’s Butterscotch milk chocolate.
Being a bit of a chocolate connoisseur, this is THE bar to go for, or something
similar to give your banana loaf a delightful crunch.
Ingredients:
·
285g self raising flour
·
1 tsp baking powder
·
½ tsp salt
·
110g butter
·
225g caster sugar
·
2 free range eggs
·
4 ripe/over ripe bananas
·
85ml buttermilk (or normal milk mixed with 1 ½ tsp
lemon juice)
·
1 tsp vanilla extract
·
(optional 100g Green & Blacks butterscotch
milk chocolate)
Steps:
1. Preheat
the oven to 180C.
2. Sift
flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl.
3. Cream
the butter and sugar until light and fluffy in a large mixing bowl.
4. Put
to one side and mash your bananas in a separate bowl.
5. Add
your eggs, mashed bananas, buttermilk and vanilla extract to the butter and
sugar mixture and mix well.
6. Fold
in the flour mixture.
7. If
you’re using the chocolate, at this point, break it into little chocolate
chunks and add to your mix, as little or as much as you like.
8. Grease
your loaf tin and add baking paper.
9. Pour
the cake mixture into the tin and bake for approximately an hour until well
risen and golden brown.
10. Inserting
a knife or skewer into the centre of the cake can help you check whether its
done, if it’s still a bit gooey in the middle, the knife or skewer won’t come
out clean.
11. Remove
from the oven and leave to cool until
serving.
Tips:
· *
This cake goes perfectly with a dollop of crème fraiche!
· *
Don’t over mash the bananas.
Brilliant Bananas
Following an attack of the mosquitoes, I used banana skin on
my bites to sooth the itches. This worked to an extent but I would recommend
anti histamine cream over the dubious banana skin remedy any day for stubborn
bites. However, bananas are used in many remedies including treatment of the
skin condition psoriasis, wart removal and even for a soothing facial! The
power of the banana is great!
Finally, here’s ten interesting facts about bananas… Did you
know bananas contain radioactive potassium? That the banana tree is considered
a herb?
·
Credits
for my recipes go to the BBC Good Food site – thank you!
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