Banana And Peanut Butter Cake

Today was my daughter's first day back at school, so I thought I'd do some baking so that she had a treat to come home to. Such a nice Mum that I am!

When I looked in the fridge, I didn't quite have enough butter for the cake I was going to make. In a stroke of genius, I thought I'd use peanut butter in its place and this delicious banana and peanut butter cake was born! Using brown sugar, instead of white, also gives it a beautiful caramel colour and intensifies the flavour.

The peanut butter icing is absolutely amazing. Mr eat quaff laugh, who doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, claimed it was 'delicious'! If you want a smoother icing, use smooth peanut butter. I only had the crunchy version in the cupboard, but didn't mind having a few bits of nuts in mine.

If you like lots of icing on your cake, or you're likely to eat half of it straight out of the bowl (like I did) then I'd recommend making a double batch. It disappears without even knowing it! To get a bit fancy, you could decorate the top with extra roasted peanuts and some banana chips.

This cake  is yummy! Go on and make it for an after school or work treat :-)

Banana And Peanut Butter Cake

100g butter, softened

50g peanut butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 1/2 cups SR flour, sifted

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

2 Tbs milk

Pre heat oven to 180 degrees.

Grease a cake tin with oil spray. I used a loaf tin, but you could use round or square, if you prefer.

Beat butter, peanut butter and sugar until creamy.

Add eggs, mashed banana and vanilla and beat well.

Fold in the sifted dry ingredients and milk until well combined.

Pour into the tin and smooth the top.

Bake for 35-40 mins or until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes in the tin and then tip onto a cake rack to cool completely.

When cold, ice with peanut butter icing

Peanut Butter Icing

150g cream cheese, softened

2 Tbs peanut butter

3 Tbs icing sugar

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth and creamy.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Date Banana Bread

Looking for a banana bread recipe that's a little bit more indulgent? Look no further.

This recipe has all the things you want in a banana bread recipe - moist, sweet and nutty, plus a couple of extras. The dates add a beautiful richness and almost honey sweetness and the cocoa makes it a bit more indulgent. Maybe not the best thing for breakfast, but perfect for a morning or afternoon pick-me-up!

Try it straight out of the oven with a spread of butter, toast it under the grill and serve with ricotta and a few banana slices or just enjoy a piece on it's own with a cup of tea or coffee. Sometimes the simple things are the best!

Chocolate Date Banana Bread

75g dates, chopped

50g butter

2 ripe bananas, mashed

A squeeze of lemon juice

1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 3/4 cup SR flour

1/4 cup cocoa

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Grease and line a loaf tin.

In a small saucepan, bring 100ml water and dates to the boil. Simmer until soft, then remove from the heat and mash the dates.

Add butter to the hot date mixture and stir until melted.

In a large bowl, combine date mixture, banana, lemon juice, milk, walnuts, sugar and egg and mix until well combined.

Sift over the flour and cocoa and stir until just combined.

Spoon into the prepared tin and smooth the surface.

Bake for about 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and rest in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool.

Serve while still warm or allow to cool and slice for lunch boxes.

Enjoy!

Super easy banana bread

On a cold, wet Melbourne day, what's better than the smell of something delicious baking in the oven. With a few bananas in the fruit bowl that had seen better days, banana bread was the only option for afternoon tea!

I like my banana bread to be a bit dense, but not too cakey. It needs to be able to be eaten fresh out of the oven with lashings of butter or thickly sliced and toasted with ricotta and honey. Delish!

This version has so many variations, that its great. It's super easy too. Today I added some coconut to the mixture, but you could add nuts, choc chips, fresh or frozen berries, whatever takes your fancy. One word of warning though - it won't last long!

EASY  BANANA  BREAD

2 medium bananas
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup SR flour (wholemeal or white)
pinch salt
cinnamon sugar
1/4 -1/2 cup chopped nuts, coconut, choc chips or berries

Preheat oven to 180 degrees and grease and base line a small loaf tin.
Mash banana with golden syrup and sugar and combine well.
Stir in lightly beaten egg, then sifted flour and pinch of salt.
Gently stir in extras until just combined.
Pour into tin and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Back for about 30 mins or until cooked.
Turn on to a rack to cool, or eat straight from the oven.

Now to sit down with a cup of tea and relax :-)