Banana Bread: Old Favourite, New Favourite!...
I know we are already well into the New Year but I am still recovering from all the fuss and general craziness of the holiday season. During the holidays I was able to spend a bit more time in the kitchen trying out different recipes and experimenting with some new kitchen gadgets. However, I was so caught up in exploring the new and different that I neglected a few things in my kitchen.
The main casualty of my neglect was a bunch of bananas which were almost at the point of no return. Not wanting to waste them, I found myself going back to one of my all time favourite recipes – Banana Bread.
Banana Bread is one of the easiest things to make. What is so wonderful is that you can have it just as it is OR you can jazz it up a bit if you want. Here are just some of the things I love to add to a basic Banana Bread recipe:
- Chopped Walnuts or Pecans
- Fresh Blueberries or Raspberries (you can also use frozen)
- Grated Courgette (Zucchini)
- Grated Carrot
- Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
For this particular recipe – which is a low fat version – my husband and I decided to add 2 Heaping Tablespoons of Un-Sweetened Coco Powder and approximately 9 Glace Cherries cut into quarters. We also used a spring form cake tin rather than a loaf tin. The results were simply amazing and ok we confess… not as low fat as it could have been. However it was absolutely divine with a cup of tea and an episode of Columbo.
I found the recipe on the following site; lowfatcooking.about.com, which is brilliant. Have a go with the recipe as it is – or add a little something extra. Then sit back, relax and enjoy!
For low fat banana bread recipe click here
I have also written out the recipe below.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup butter, softened or 1/4 cup trans-fat free shortening
- 2 large eggs or 1/2 cup egg substitute
- 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 small bananas)
- 1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spoon flour gently into measuring cups and level with a knife. Stir flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. Put aside. Place sugar and butter in a large bowl and beat at low speed with a mixer until well blended. Add one egg at a time and blend well after each one. Add in mashed banana, yogurt and vanilla extract, beat until blended. Add flour mixture and blend until just moist. Do not over-mix. Spray an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour batter into pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes (until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean). Remove from pan after 10 minutes or so and cool on a wire rack.
Yield: one loaf, 14 slices.