Classic Banana Bread

There is something that isn't made here in Italy that I simply adore.... For many in the US, it's considered a classic cake and I have searched far and wide for this recipe. Yes, i'm talking about Banana Bread!

There's something about that sweet flavour and moist texture that just has me hooked!

 After searching long and hard, several friends provided variations of the classic recipe, but for now here's I found a great basic version... and get this? No need for a mixer for this recipe!






Banana Nut Bread Recipe

Ingredients:
3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup of chopped walnuts
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the chopped walnuts. Add the flour last, and mix.
Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Leave to cool on a cooling rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.
Ta-daaaaa! Easy as saying 1-2-3!

Time to get bakin'!

Alrighty!!
Enough of this idle chit-chat, let's get down to business!

A while ago I found this really interesting recipe. Bare with me now, as there is one particular ingredient that is a bit.. umm... unconventional for a cake, let's just say!

It's a Rosemary Olive Oil Cake, with chocolate chips.... and as odd as those ingredients sound, the guinee pigs.. erm I mean the "family", really liked it!
It's not too sweet and I must admit, the chocolate brought together everything really well, and really complimented the other flavours. If you're wanting to try something different, then this recipe is for you.

Rosemary Olive Oil Cake

Dry ingredients:
3/4 cup / 3 oz / 80g spelt flour (I only used the normal type, adding this amount to the amount below)
1 1/2 cups / 7.5 oz / 210 g all-purpose flour
3/4 cup / 4 oz / 115g sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup / 240 ml olive oil
3/4 cup / 180 ml whole milk
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped (I used the dried kind, from my spice rack)
5 ounces / 140 g bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao), chopped into 1/2-inch pieces (I used regular dark chocolate, chocolate chips)
2 tablespoons sugar, for top crunch

Preheat the oven to 350F / 175C. Rub a 9 1/2-inch (24 cm) fluted tart pan (aka pie dish) with olive oil. Alternately, you can use a loaf pan., like I did.
You can line it with parchment paper. I just used some olive oil.

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl, (the recipes says to pour any bits of grain or other ingredients left in the sifter back into the bowl). Set this first mix aside.

In another large bowl, whisk the eggs thoroughly. Add the olive oil, milk and rosemary and whisk again. Using a spatula, fold the wet ingredients into the dry, gently mixing just until combined. Stir in 2/3 of the chocolate. Pour the batter into the pan, spreading it evenly and smoothing the top. Sprinkle with the remaining chocolate and run a fork along the length of the chocolate so that the batter envelops it just a bit. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the top is domed, golden brown, and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. My cake, in the alternate pan, took closer to 55 minutes.

Enjoy!