Rustic Coconut Banana Bread

As most of you know, I'm not really into baking that much. It is quite an exact science and I'm much happier creating dishes on the fly, tasting as I go and not slavishly measuring every ingredient. I made an exception this weekend when I realised that we had forgotten to eat the bananas that had been sitting in the fruit bowl since the beginning of the week. We had a handful of very ripe bananas that were crying out to be put in some kind of recipe asap. I decided to make banana bread with a couple of my own twists. Having never attempted banana bread in my life, I took a basic recipe and swapped all white flour for a mixture of white and wholemeal flour, as well as adding a little nutmeg and good quality vanilla.

I realised that I also had a pack of threaded, dessicated coconut in the cupboard (originally purchased with the intention of making coconut prawns that have not, as yet eventuated) so I thought I would add the coconut to the banana bread and see how it turned out. I was happy with the result - a home style banana bread that has a rustic, dense texture due to the wholemeal flour. If you wanted a lighter style bread, you could replace the wholemeal component with all white flour. My banana bread is not the light, highly processed style that you will find in cafes, however it has a great robust flavour that is really lovely toasted and served with some salted butter.

Just out of the oven

 The recipe below makes a small sized loaf - if you are using a larger sized loaf pan (similar to the sized loaf you would need to make the banana bread you see in cafes) then do what I did and double the amounts. I actually started with the amounts listed below, but when I looked at the large loaf pan I had chosen, I realised that I would need twice the amount to fill it. If you are using a standard loaf pan, the quantities below should be just right. Remember too that a bigger loaf will mean longer cooking time.

The coconut and banana combination works really well, both in terms of taste and texture. The bread is very moist, with a slightly crunchy outside crust and a sweet coconut aroma that smells just beautiful. I'm certainly not a baker, but I was happy with my first attempt at banana bread.

Coconut Banana Bread

You will need: 1 cup plain white flour, 1 cup wholemeal plain flour, 2/3 cup caster sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 cup dessicated or threaded coconut, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract,3-4 ripe bananas, a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg.

Method: Preheat the oven to 160C. Grease a loaf tin (or spray it with cooking spray) and line the base of the loaf pan with baking paper.

Mash the bananas well and add the vanilla, nutmeg and the eggs.

In a separate bowl, sift the flours and baking powder. Add the sugar and the coconut and combine well.

Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix thoroughly. Pour the mixture into your prepared loaf pan.

Bake for about 60 minutes - the cooking time is going to vary depending on your oven, the sized pan and your ingredients (size of eggs, moisture in the bananas etc) The loaf is cooked when you insert a skewer in the centre and it comes out clean. Your loaf may take a little more or a little less time - just keep an eye on it and do the skewer test.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool for 10-15 minutes before turning it out on a wire rack to cool.

Serve as is, or toasted with butter.

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Sweet Sunday

I like having a leisurely cooked breakfast on a Sunday, and my love for things savoury and piquant usually means that I have poached eggs and bacon, or corncakes, grilled mushrooms and avocado with lots of tabasco or something equally spicy on the side.

This morning though, I decided to have something sweet for a change. I bought some lovely fresh ricotta and fruit yesterday, so this became the inspiration for this yummy breakfast dish. It could easily become a dessert dish - perhaps use blueberries and banana or mixed berries? Plums or apricots would be nice too. If you are doing it as a dessert, then I would make the hotcakes quite small - pikelet size.

I don't like things too sweet, so I haven't put a lot of sugar in the batter mixture, but if you like it sweeter, then add more sugar. Just remember that more sugar will mean they will brown and caramelise a lot faster, so watch the hotcakes so they don't burn. This recipe will serve 2-4 people, depending on how piggy you want to be!

Banana and Ricotta Hotcakes

You will need: 1 cup self-raising flour, 2 eggs, about half a cup of milk, 1 dessertspoon caster sugar, 1 large ripe banana (or 2 small ones), a few teaspoons butter (or oil ) to grease the frypan, 1 cup fresh ricotta, maple syrup, a few strawberries (optional)

Method: Blend the milk, eggs, sugar and half of the banana in a food processor till smooth.

Sift the flour into a bowl and gradually whisk in the milk to form a batter. You may need to add more milk if the batter is too stiff. The batter should easily coat/stick to, the back of a spoon.

Gently crumble half of the ricotta into the mixture and stir through gently. Let the mixture rest for 10-15 mins.

I like to transfer the mixture into a small jug to make pouring the batter easier and less messy, but you can also use a spoon or measuring cup for the next step. Heat and grease the frypan and cook the hotcakes in batches, with the hotplate on medium heat. Turn the hotcakes when bubbles appear on the surface.

Keep an eye on the heat and turn it down or up if you have to. Remember that the amount of sugar you put in and the ripeness of the banana will affect how fast it will brown/burn.

Serve the hotcakes right away, with sliced banana, strawberry and the extra ricotta, drizzled generously with maple syrup.

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