Banana things

Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want To Have Fun

I’ve become quite the domesticated lady nowadays. Don’t get me wrong, I still hate washing dishes, you still won’t find me scrubbing my floor but I’m really having quite a ball with certain lady chores. Sewing  and baking are what we can now call “my thing”. I’ve actually always wanted a sewing machine to try my luck with that side of life but until now, I just never really got to it . I’ll see if we can’t change that soon.

Okay, back to baking. Studying often leaves many people with added pounds and while I don’t actually eat more than I usually do during exams, I just thought, one can never be too careful. So I hit the internet for some recipes and realised I don’t have half the required ingredients. Okay, less than half. Unless you’re staying at home, I really don’t think your average student keeps baking powder and self-raising flower in their room. After making my way to the nearest grocery store it was game time. Only thing missing, an apron. Of course, I wouldn’t say I need one but I think that would just get me in the right mood. 

I found this recipe on Food.com. Find the link below for the recipe without my alterations...

Food.com Banana Cake

·         ½ cup butter, softened

·         1 cup ripe banana, mashed

·         1 teaspoon baking soda

·         3 large eggs

·         1 ½ cups sugar

·         1 ¾ cups flower

·         4 Tsp buttermilk

·         1 cup walnuts, chopped

Alterations and suggestions

I used 3 medium sized bananas.

I then used brown sugar instead of the suggested white sugar simply because I don’t keep white sugar in my room and I believe it’s a healthier option. I also used only 200g of sugar. I was a little overwhelmed by the suggested 1 ½ cups. Raisins are another healthier alternative. 

   

I didn’t have buttermilk but Google kindly informed me that one can get the required amount of buttermilk by simply mixing the exact measurement of milk and adding a few drops of lemon juice into that milk.

I added some cinnamon and muesli instead of the chopped walnuts.

And finally, you will notice that I baked muffins instead of a cake. Now this was inspired by the fact that I don’t have a cake pan.

Cream butter and sugar – add mashed ripe banana – set aside

Whisk together flour, baking powder, add to banana mixture

Add one egg at a time, mixing well after each egg. Then add buttermilk, baking soda  muesli cinnamon – beat well. 

Pour into greased muffin pan and bake at 180° for 20 – 30 minutes.

My housemates absolutely loved these, as did I of course. And since I made these muffins I've experimented with several other recipes using cocoa, replacing cooking oil with orange juice or butter with avocado. Some experiments definitely went better than others but all-in-all, I've thoroughly enjoyed the whole concept of eating baked goodies that I made from scratch. I'd encourage you to start small. Pancakes are the easiest and yummiest. Then who knows, one of these days you and I could open a wedding cake business all in due time.  

PS: there are very few things sexier than a man in an apron. Hint-hint, nudge-nudge. 

Xx