Winter greetings and a banana bread recipe
It’s no secret that Eyal is the one who mainly takes care of our meals, being the absolute top chef and the best business partner there is. I have some sort of imposter syndrome when it comes to cooking for Eyal, even though there is zero reason for that and Eyal is only ever cheering me in the kitchen. He is always generous to help me if I need it (however, I have hard time accepting help sometimes leading to unnecessary bickering from my part).
Winter has truly arrived in Finland. The temperature has been well below 0 degrees on multiple days, iPhone’s weather app letting me know it’s -11 feeling like -19.
This autumn, which has just turned into winter, has been a time of in-betweens. We were very fortunate to spend a month in France, in a place called Capdenac-Gare. The first two weeks of our month away there was a heatwave, temperature rising to nearly 30 degrees celcius every day. It was beautiful and interesting to experience the familiar smells and colours of autumn in a warmer climate, albeit concerning too as it’s not the usual norm for it to be this warm this time of the year. Suddenly, just as if clicking a switch, the temperature changed to more suitable (southern France) October weather, ranging between 15 to 20 degrees.
Life finally feels more stable again. I feel beyond fortunate to have had the possibility to have a month abroad. It does however affect the feel of everyday life, mostly in a positive way but it can also be a reason for excess stress (at least if you’re someone like me who tends to overcomplicate things which do not need to be complicated). Changing locations is a great chance to reflect on one’s daily habits and routines, and to make change where it feels needed. At this moment of life I love to start my day with a walk, cold winter air all crisp around me, make a cup of tea or coffee, journal, practice pilates, and start on my day’s agenda. From these daily walks by the sea, lessened scrolling time, and the warmth of home, I've found inspiration in the kitchen, leading me to the recipe I'd like to share with you today. One of my favourite things when making a space feel like home is to bake something delicious, filling the space with lovely aromas. Nothing quite compares to home-baked goods ability to make a place feel like home.
Yesterday the temperature rose to only about minus one degree, accompanied by heavy snowfall. I had some ripe bananas and a want for something sweet, so I decided to make banana bread. Even if I’m not the most confident cook, I do enjoy baking. I rationalise this baker’s attitude in my head with the fact, that with a recipe containing sugar and butter, the chances of it coming out bad is nearly impossible. With me, there is still always room for error, but it really is not that serious.
Most often when I decide to bake I look at my cupboards and make what I can, searching online for simple recipes. More often than not I find a couple of different recipes, combine aspects of them and improvise on making it my own. When making this, Eyal asked me if the recipe I’m using is the same one I usually use when I make banana bread, but there’s no such thing for me as a recipe I usually use. I found couple of recipes and made some changes, using muscovado sugar in addition to granulated sugar and added toasted milk powder, which we already had in the cupboard, to my banana bread batter. I’m sure you will succeed without it, but the combination of muscovado sugar and toasted milk powder is divine.
Toasting milk powder is a simple process that can add a rich, caramelised flavour to various recipes. Here’s how to toast milk powder:
Use a heavy-bottomed frying pan to ensure even heat distribution. Place it on the hob over medium heat. Once the pan is warm, add the milk powder in a thin, even layer. Begin stirring the milk powder continuously. This is important to prevent burning and to ensure that it toasts evenly. Use a wooden spoon or a spatula for best results. As you stir, the milk powder will slowly change colour. You’re aiming for a light golden hue, which indicates that it's starting to caramelise. The process might take a few minutes. Once the milk powder has reached a golden-brown colour, promptly remove the pan from the heat to prevent over-toasting or burning. Transfer the toasted milk powder to a plate or a baking sheet spread out in a thin layer to cool. Cooling it immediately stops the cooking process, preventing further browning. Use the toasted milk powder immediately in your recipe, or store it in an airtight container once it’s completely cool to enrich future baking sessions.
Here is the recipe of my today’s creation:
You’ll need (approximately, I’m not the one to be too precise):
170 grams muscovado sugar
30 grams granulated sugar
1 tablespoon of toasted milk powder
114 grams room temperature butter
2 eggs
3 smashed bananas, 1 sliced banana
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
240 grams all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to about 160 degrees celcius. Grease a loaf tin, and line the tin with a small piece of parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugars, toasted milk powder, and butter. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.
Add the mashed banana and milk and stir to combine.
In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and stir everything just until combined.
Take some of the batter to another bowl, add the cocoa powder and mix together.
Alternate pouring the batters into the prepared loaf tin, slice one banana and place it on top, and sprinkle with more muscovado sugar. Bake for about 80 to 90 minutes, depending on your oven, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean-ish (you want the cake to be gooey, but not raw).
Set aside before removing the bread from the tin onto a wire rack to cool completely. As I wrote in the beginning, there’s always room for error when it comes to me in the kitchen. I was a tad impatient with waiting before removing the banana bread from the loaf tin, leading my cake to collapse a bit. So make sure to wait long enough before removing the cake from the loaf tin. My end result was not the prettiest, but certainly delicious and moist. I contemplated on re-baking this for a more beautiful outcome, and I’m sure I will use this recipe again, however I believe there might be some other standard bakers out there who won’t be too fussed to sometimes see not-so-perfect products on the internet. Perhaps it will even make baking feel more accessible to some. Here’s to hoping!
This banana bread is absolutely perfect to indulge in the warmth of your home with a cup of tea, as the loud world becomes quiet under a snow duvet.
Let me know if you decide to try this recipe! I’m especially curious to find out how it turns out if you’re willing to wait before diving in too quick, ensuring it won’t collapse.
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With sweet wintery regards,
Veera