Banana Chiffon Cake - Sourdough -

Ingredients:

Egg 4

Flour 50g

Sugar 80g

Sourdough starter 20g

Banana 1 (mashed)

I've been making lots of breads recently, but clearly not enough cakes. Last weekend I finally got a withdrawal syndrome, and had to do something about it...

So.., I made banana cake! :D

This is not one of those moist dense type ones (I like them too!), but it's rather light and super soft. I used my Sourdough Chiffon Cake recipe and added mashed banana before folding in the flour.

When I took the cake out of the oven, I had to put my nose on the cake... the smell was irresistible...

I love love love chiffon cake because it's so ridiculously light that after you had a big slice or two you  don't feel heavy. It's perfect for someone greedy like me who wants at least two slices when it comes to cake...

I had some with plenty of unsweetened cream. 

Sourdough Banana Pancake

Sourdough pancakes again, and this time it's Banana!

I'm going to keep this post short and sweet, so... the recipe is here - Sourdough pancake -. I added half a banana just before cooking on a pan, and it worked perfect. ;)

Nice and soft, and naturally sweet.;)

Perfect energy boost breakfast too. ;D

Banoffee Pan

I turned an all time classic dessert into bread... It's not Banoffee pie, but Banoffee 'Pan'. ;D

I used my banana buns as the base and added a couple of spoonfuls of caramel in the dough. When it came to shaping, I rolled in the caramel and twisted the dough so that the sauce spreads evenly.

They were indeed really nice sweet buns. The sticky and sweet caramel was a great combo with not-so-sweet banana bun. Those oozed out caramel was simply awesome....

I prepared the caramel too... it's actually super easy! Just cook the tinned condensed milk in a boiling water for 2 hours, cool it down (don't open it while it's hot or it'll explode!), and pop it open, you will see a nice caramel inside;)

Recipe for Banana Buns.

Banana yoghurt pancake

Because I love bread, and so does Lana, and there is nothing better than freshly baked bread, sometimes we end up eating all the bread I baked that was meant to be for the following morning.

So, one of those mornings, pancakes come out to help me. ;) My recent favourite is this yoghurt pancake. It's very simple and goes well with any fruits. I added bananas this time. Banana is an awesome choice for a natural sweetness and it keeps you full through out the morning. But be careful, it gets super hot when cooked!

Recipe for Basic Yoghurt Pancake.

Have you tried Sweet Corn Pancake?

こどもの日パン。Children's Day bread.

Today is こどもの日 (Children's day) in Japan, so I made these fish shaped buns for Lana (I've explained the reason for the fish shape here a few years ago.)

These buns are what I call 'super soft' white rolls made with my banana yeast starter. By adding a whole ripe banana and two egg yolks, the buns become really soft and lovely which I like and is very different from the hard crusty sourdough breads (Oh, don't get me wrong, I love them too!)

They are so simple, nice as is or go very well with cheese, jam, and also great as BBQ sausage or burgers... They very versatile;)

Anyway, Happy Children's Day to all the little kids and big kids out there!

Waffle maker sandwich with banana bread

 This morning I made banana bread again. This time I just baked it in a loaf tin. Since it didn't make it to breakfast, I decided that we were having sandwiches with the banana loaf for lunch. :)

I made tuna and cheese sandwiches and I used the waffle maker to press them. (I couldn't find the hot sandwich maker...) Look, it worked pretty cool!

The extra thick slices were real treats after a swim! Yum yum yum..., and being tired from the swim and belly full, Lana went to a deep deep nap while I was pushing the pram back home...;D

Hot cross buns

On Easter weekend, I made hot cross buns for the first time. Instead of a usual hot cross bun recipe that has quite a bit of sugar and butter, I used my sugar free banana bun recipe as a dough.

You don't really taste of the banana but it plays an excellent roll of bringing a natural sweetness to the bread. Not only is the banana a good alternative to sugar but also it makes the bread dough nice and soft.

For the hot cross buns, I soaked dried fruits in orange juice for a little while, and mixed them into the dough.

I really liked these buns. I think I will make them more often!

Here is the recipe for Banana Buns.

Banana milk buns

My daughter loves bananas. She is only 11 months but will easily eat a whole banana... Blood is thicker than water...

Anyway, I made banana buns for her. Because the ripe banana was already sweet as is, I didn't add any sugar. But the bread still had a subtle sweetness and taste of banana but not too over powering.

Andy and Lana kept going back for more. Seeing them enjoy my baking is the best compliment for me. ;D xxx

Ingredients:

Strong flour 215g

Rye flour 35g

Yeast 3g

Salt 3g

Milk 200g

Banana (peeled and mashed) 100g

Butter 20g

Egg for egg wash

1. Put all the ingredients except butter in the standing mixer, and knead for a few minutes.

2. Add butter. Keep kneading for 10 minutes.

3. Place the dough in a clean bowl, cover with cling film and rest it until it has doubled in size.

4. Punch the dough to let the air out. Divide the dough into 7 pieces. Make them into balls and rest for 10 minutes.

5. Gently reshape the dough and place on a baking tray. Rest it until it has doubled in size.

6. Preheat the oven to 180ºc. Egg wash the top. Bake for 20 minutes.

Banana yeast bread

Another home grown yeast. This time with my favourite fruit, Banana! I used a very ripe banana and it was ready in 4 days, which was the shortest compared to my other yeast. (have you seen my raisin yeast and lemon yeast?)

In fact it was so quick that even on day 2 I could see some bubbles and smell that distinctive aroma. On day 4, as soon as I took the lid off the strong smell of banana hit my nose. And there was me thinking... "Hum, this is good. Very promising. ;) "

So, the yeast was done. Now the bread. The dough took about a day to rise and after I bake it, it came out looking nice and soft. It had a good texture and was nice toasted with butter or cheese. I think this dough will also work well with some sweet filling like custard or cream cheese, or even cinnamon roll might be a good idea too... Next time I'll experiment a bit more. :)

Banana yeast

Water 400ml

Banana 1 (cut into 5-6 pieces)

1. Sterilize the jar which you are going to put the water and banana.

2. Place water, banana in the jar. Put on the lid and give a little shake. Place in a room temperature.

3. Shake the jar a couple of times a day and each time open the lid to give it a fresh air.

4. After a few days, the banana starts to come up to the top, and you'll start to notice some bubbles around the banana as well as "wine-like" smell.

5. When all the banana has come up to the top, and you hear "pop" as you open the lid, that's the sign of done!

**NOTE**

If you noticed any strange smell or mould in the jar, unfortunately it's gone off..., so start again... Make sure that you sterilize everything you use including spoons or measuring cups.

Banana yeast bread

Flour 250g

Banana yeast liquid 180g

Butter 20g

Oil 30g

Egg 1

Sugar 30g

1. Combine all the ingredients and mix until it becomes a dough.

2. Place the dough on a floured surface and kneed for 10 to 15 minutes until the surface of the dough is smooth.

3. Place the dough in a clean bowl and cover. Leave it until the dough has become twice the size of the initial size. (it might take more than a day depending on the yeast and temperature.)

4. Take out the dough on a floured surface, and punch it to get the air out.

5. Reshape the dough and place it in a baking tin. Cover the bread and leave it in a warm place. Prove until the bread has become twice the size of the initial size.

7. Preheat the oven to 200º. Bake for 45 minutes.

St Lucia's banana cake

I love bananas...  I was once so addicted to them that I dose up myself with 10 bananas in one go and made myself come off from that addiction. However, this morning I found bananas laying in the kitchen and I could see my banana addiction is now gradually coming back...

This time, my craving was not for plain fresh bananas but a banana cake...

After a bit of research, I decided to go for Caribbean style, St Lucia's banana cake. This cake is... full of my favourite things. The soft and moist bananas, fresh taste of pineapple... crunchy nuts, and hint of spices... humm, what else do I need to make myself feel warm and happy:)

I used almond for nuts, but walnuts would be good too.

To see the recipe, visit The World of Sweets, Saint Lucia.

Banh chuoi nuong... for banana lovers

Banh Chuoi Nuong is a Vietnamese style banana cake. Although the name means "baked banana cake", it is a bit different from the bready type banana cake. The unique, sort of sticky texture remained me of more like a pudding.

The interesting ingredient in the recipe is "French bread". However old and hard the bread is, it's fine as far as it's not moldy;) Same thing applies to the bananas. I, in fact, prefer using those really ripe bananas as they give the cake much richer and sweeter flavour. This time, I used brown dotted very ripe ones, and my mum even thought I put some liquor in the cake!

I had it cold, but it's nice warm too:)

Not only is this Vietnamese banana cake addictively yummy, but also it's a great way to use up the left over bananas and bread! Try it when you have old bread and bananas looking at you in the kitchen;)

To see the recipe, visit The World of Sweets, Recipes, Vietnam.

Tapioca banana pudding

Next few weeks, I'm borrowing my mum's kitchen to try out some Asian recipes (and of course, some sweets from other places too;D). So..., we're going to start with a full of exotic flavour and texture, Tapioca Banana Pudding!

Those dried tapioca that we find in super markets look quite different when it's cooked. When I put the tapioca in a pot, I knew I shouldn't put too much because it will soak up water and get bigger (A bit like pop corns in a way....) However, I couldn't help myself and put a little too much and ended up a pot full of tapioca! Anyway, I love its' unique texture popping in my mouth. Humm, yum yum;)

This is called pudding but it's not like the egg based pudding such as creme brulee or caramel pudding. Tapioca pudding is more like a thick soup. Bananas and tapioca give this desserts a real stickiness and coconut milk brings all together.

The Tapioca pudding recipe is not too strict. Adjust the sweetness as you like as well as the amount of bananas;)

To see the recipe, visit The World of Sweets Recipe, Cambodia.

What I've found in NY, day2 & 3

On the day2 in NY, I was still feeling the cheese cake from the night before in my stomach...  so I decided not to taste big cakes but enjoy looking at them instead....

When we were wondering around the city, I found the M&M shop and the Hershey's shop. There I was like a kid in a toy shop again. In M&M shop, they've got huge tanks of chocolate with a lot of different flavours as well as funky novelty goods. Even for non-chocolate lovers, it is definitely a fun place to visit. While the M&M shop was spacious with 3 floor, the Hershey's was compact, but still they've got a good enough varieties.


On the day3, I was much more recovered from the jet lag and we've decided to have a super-tourist-day;)

First, the Statue of Liberty. When went on a helicopter tour to see her! When we are waiting for the flight, they gave us cookies. What a nice surprise! I like the service in America:) The cookies are those American type, crunchy outside and soft inside, yummy yummy;)

On the way to the Empire State building, we popped into Seven Eleven. Here Andy got excited when he found the slurpee:) With the icy cola and orange, we got on the subway....

Back in London, I have my favourite sweet and creamy drink called "flangelico banana smoothie" from our local bar, Sam's. Before leaving off to America, Ben, the bartender at Sam's gave us the recipe so that I can have my drink even when I'm away. Thanks to Ben, I've got my drink in NY! But..., remember we are in America! It was twice as big as the original!!

I've got one whole day left in NY, my search for American sweets continues....

Pisang Goreng

Today's lunch was one of my favourite snack in Malaysia, Pisang Goreng! This crispy fried bananas are so addictive and good energy source for the rest of the day. But what makes me go back there every so often is this lady, who make these deep fried cannot-stop addiction...

She is just wonderful. She always gives me a few extras. She definitely knows how to keep a greedy monkey...;)