Maria Nasir“Work is the meat of life, pleasure is the dessert.” B.C.Forbes
Don’t Throw Away Over Ripe Bananas!
Do bananas often get over ripe and mushy in your house? I know it happens in kitchens across the globe. The happy, sunny yellow banana skin takes only a couple of days till it starts turning brown and unappetizing looking. So what do you do with them? Please don’t throw them away because especially in the current food crisis situation it’s really very unethical to waste food. The most delicious solution is to bake a classic banana bread with them. A simple but a #trashtotreasure kind of a solution. If you have the basic recipe, you can tweak it each time to create a more interesting flavour. One of the variations I try is this recipe for Banana Almond Bread with Caramel Sauce.
So Many Variations of Classic Banana Bread:
Banana Almond Bread is just one of many varieties of the classic banana bread that I bake with wilting bananas- other variations are with cinnamon, lemon juice and zest, orange juice and zest, nutmeg and walnuts, dark chocolate or white chocolate chips and each time the outcome has been very yummy.This classic recipe for Banana Bread has been tried and tested for dozens of times in my kitchen, this past new year’s party I made it with figs and walnuts, and it was a hit with the guests. The heartwarming goodness of the aromatic, creamy caramel sauce and the richness of the very moist banana bread are a real indulgence. Out of all the different flavour profiles, this Banana Almond Bread with Caramel Sauce is my family’s favourite. What can be more satisfying when a recipe cooked with love is received with delight by your family and friends!
All the Other Yummy Stuff You Can Make:
While banana bread is the first thing that comes to mind, there are so many delicious recipes that you can make with over ripe bananas. If you are into more healthy bakes, try my recipe for Oatmeal Banana Bread . Or how about some soft, spongy and fluffy Chocolate Banana Eggless Pancakes that would make your weekend brunch super special. Chocolate Banana Muffins is another such easy to bake treat that would rescue the bananas that you were about to throw away. Frozen yogurt is an excellent and delicious way to incorporate more bananas into your diet, for that try my Healthy Banana Frozen Yogurt recipe.
Happy Cooking!
Ingredients for Classic Banana Bread:
3/4 cup butter,softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
1+ 1/4 cup self raising flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 medium bananas
For Caramel Sauce:
1+1/4 cup cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoon instant coffee
1/2 cup almonds or nuts of your choice
This Is What You Do:
Preheat oven to 175 degrees C.
Place all cake ingredients in food processor and mix for 1 minute.
Pour the mixture in a lightly greased bread loaf pan (4 x 10 inches or 2.5 litre capacity). Bake for 30-35 minutes or till the skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. (All ovens have slight temperature difference, so do check the bread after 30 minutes).
To make the sauce heat all the ingredients of the sauce in a pan on medium heat till it thickens to the consistency of custard. Pour over the bread, serve hot or let it set in the refrigerater for an hour or so.
(For lemon or orange flavour, add 2 tablespoons of lemon or orange juice and 1 teaspoon of zest of your chosen flavour to the batter. For rich christmas flavour, add 1/2 a cup of chopped figs or dates with a teaspoon of mixed spice blend.
Serves 10