My interest in baking started when I went to New Zealand for a university student exchange program four years ago.
In the eight months that I was there, living alone forced me to be more domesticated. At the same time, I developed the liking for being in the kitchen. Baking was easier than cooking, in a way, given its precision in grams, inches and degrees Celcius. For a beginner, it was more science than art, leaving a smaller room for error.
Google became my best friend - I enjoyed researching for recipes, and the virtual visits to famous bakeries around the world. I was in search for baking tips and tricks, and expanded my research to bakery-published books. More importantly, I was on the hunt for "the best", "famous" and "most popular" recipes out there.
From breads to cakes, brownies to cupcakes and muffins, it soon became an addiction. All I looked forward to was to try out the new recipes that I formulated and pieced together.
Today, I would like to share one of my first bakes, which remains a family favourite until today.
My Favourite Banana Bread
(Adapted from Flour Bakery's Famous Banana Bread Recipe)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (sieved)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)
1/2 cup canola oil
3 1/2 very ripe, medium bananas (peeled and mashed)
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup walnut, toasted and chopped
Tips:
- One way to assess if bananas are ripe enough is when they start to turn "spotty".
- Freeze the ripe bananas and thaw it before use for best flavours. This little trick from Cooks Illustrated, captures the juice when the bananas thaw, which is so full of flavour.
- Sifting flour is necessary, and highly recommended, as it is much lighter than unsifted flour, making it easier to mix into other ingredients.
- Banana bread can be stored in a plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days. Or, it can be frozen for up to 2 weeks.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 165 degrees Celcius. Butter a 9-by-5 inch loaf pan.
2. Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together, in a bowl.
3. Use a stand mixer to beat the sugar and eggs together on medium speed for 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
4. On low speed, slowly drizzle in the oil. Adding it slowly allows time to incorporate eggs and not deflate the air beaten into the batter. This process should take about 1 minute.
5. Add the bananas, sour cream, and vanilla and continue to mix on low speed until just combined.
6. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour mixture and the nuts, until thoroughly combined.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
8. Bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, until golden brown on top and the center springs back when you press it.
9. Let the banana bread cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before removing it from the pan to finish cooling.
xx,
L
In the eight months that I was there, living alone forced me to be more domesticated. At the same time, I developed the liking for being in the kitchen. Baking was easier than cooking, in a way, given its precision in grams, inches and degrees Celcius. For a beginner, it was more science than art, leaving a smaller room for error.
Google became my best friend - I enjoyed researching for recipes, and the virtual visits to famous bakeries around the world. I was in search for baking tips and tricks, and expanded my research to bakery-published books. More importantly, I was on the hunt for "the best", "famous" and "most popular" recipes out there.
From breads to cakes, brownies to cupcakes and muffins, it soon became an addiction. All I looked forward to was to try out the new recipes that I formulated and pieced together.
Today, I would like to share one of my first bakes, which remains a family favourite until today.
My Favourite Banana Bread
(Adapted from Flour Bakery's Famous Banana Bread Recipe)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (sieved)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)
1/2 cup canola oil
3 1/2 very ripe, medium bananas (peeled and mashed)
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup walnut, toasted and chopped
Tips:
- One way to assess if bananas are ripe enough is when they start to turn "spotty".
- Freeze the ripe bananas and thaw it before use for best flavours. This little trick from Cooks Illustrated, captures the juice when the bananas thaw, which is so full of flavour.
- Sifting flour is necessary, and highly recommended, as it is much lighter than unsifted flour, making it easier to mix into other ingredients.
- Banana bread can be stored in a plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days. Or, it can be frozen for up to 2 weeks.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 165 degrees Celcius. Butter a 9-by-5 inch loaf pan.
2. Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together, in a bowl.
3. Use a stand mixer to beat the sugar and eggs together on medium speed for 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
4. On low speed, slowly drizzle in the oil. Adding it slowly allows time to incorporate eggs and not deflate the air beaten into the batter. This process should take about 1 minute.
5. Add the bananas, sour cream, and vanilla and continue to mix on low speed until just combined.
6. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour mixture and the nuts, until thoroughly combined.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
8. Bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, until golden brown on top and the center springs back when you press it.
9. Let the banana bread cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before removing it from the pan to finish cooling.
xx,
L
