August 25, 2016
This weekend I had a lot of down time at home, which was actually really nice. I had a lot of time to just do stuff that I wanted to do, and instead of filling it up with cleaning and reorganising like I would normally do, I decided to do some baking. Often I find if I have a lot of spare time I end up going on some mad cleaning frenzy, and so this weekend I decided to keep this to a minimum. I still went a little nuts on the kitchen, but I feel like this was massive progress. I’ve been trying to focus on doing more things that make me happy, whether it is going for a walk in the morning with a coffee, or just chilling on the couch reading a book with a cup of tea. Whatever I feel like doing, I am trying to make more time for it. I feel like I always have the urge to constantly be out doing things, or making myself useful, when really I should be making time on my weekends for things that will make me happy. I think taking this approach this weekend really helped me to wind down in preparation for the week ahead.
As you’d know by now, one of the things that really makes me relax, in the absence of a good glass of wine, is baking. There is something about it that I find so relaxing, and almost like meditation. Something about combining ingredients and the process of making something from scratch is really therapeutic, and one of the only times I can really switch off. Maybe it is because I am still doing something to keep me busy, but it isn’t necessarily a chore. I feel like since I’ve moved out of home I haven’t given myself enough time to bake, perhaps because I don’t have people to eat it so I end up eating most of it, or that now I need to get all the ingredients which I often don’t have on hand. But I’ve decided after this weekend that it is something I need to make more effort to do, because it is something I truly love.
When I was trying to pick what to bake, I decided on banana bread, because we had so many overripe bananas. I know we could have used them in smoothies or something similarly healthy, but I figured they could be put to better use in delicious banana bread. But I didn’t feel like making some sort of gluten free, healthy banana bread. I didn’t have the flours, and honestly when I want to eat banana bread, I want the delicious kind that you put in the toaster and cover with butter. You know the one that you actually enjoy because it isn’t really good for you, but it totally has fruit in it so you can justify it? And why stop there? I decided if I was going to make banana bread, I was going to add my favourite condiment in the world to it: peanut butter. I love peanut butter so much, and it seemed like the perfect excuse to experiment with chucking it in to my favourite “bread”. Plus, bananas and peanut butter are a match made in heaven (although I would argue peanut butter and anything are a match made in heaven).
This banana bread is actually the kind of banana bread where you can still taste the banana, which is my favourite type. It is disappointing when you order banana bread and you can tell that it has probably about half a banana in it, if any at all. I thought the peanut butter would overpower it too, but it actually complemented the banana flavour perfectly, and cut through the sweetness. The best part about this recipe as well is that you could mix the whole thing with a wooden spoon, and it required minimal washing up. You know how much of a fan I am of easy, quick and simple recipes that are still delicious!
- 1/3 cup of unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons of smooth peanut butter
- 3 large overripe bananas mashed
- ¾ cup of caster sugar
- ¼ cup of brown sugar
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
- 1 ½ cups of plain flour
- 1 teaspoon of bicarb of soda/baking soda
- Pinch of salt
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Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit). Line a loaf pan with baking paper and set aside.
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In a microwave safe bowl, combine the butter and peanut butter, and microwave to melt completely. Stir to incorporate.
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In a large bowl, combine the mashed banana and peanut butter mixture with a wooden spoon. Add the caster and brown sugar, beaten egg and vanilla to this, stirring to incorporate all the ingredients.
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Add the flour, bicarb of soda and salt to the mixture, and stir until just combine. Be careful not to overbeat the batter.
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Pour into the prepared loaf pan, ensuring that it is evenly spread. Bake for 1 hour, or until a cake skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly, remove from the pan, and cut into even slices. Best served still warm.
This banana bread was absolutely delicious, and the perfect little treat for the weekend. The peanut butter perfectly balanced the sweetness from the bananas and sugar, which leaves you wanting more of it when you have one slice. I enjoyed having it the next day for breakfast with a bit of honey, but you could also serve with mascarpone for a really special treat! It’s great on its own too – I know this week we’ve been enjoying snacking on it in between meals because it’s too good to waste!
Although this recipe does take a while to cook, it is actually really quick to prepare, and doesn’t really require much effort. I love recipes where you can use one spoon and don’t need to whip things up, especially because you don’t risk overbeating the butter, something I seem to do frequently! It also results in minimal washing up, which is always a bonus when baking!
This banana bread was super dense and cakey, and was the perfect texture for banana bread. It meant it was really easy to cut, and all too easy to consume. It also has lasted really well I think because of the consistency, and so you can enjoy it for days after baking, if it lasts that long!
Until next time, happy eating!
Ella xx
