Caution. I’ve included a lot of non-food photos for today’s posts. Just skip down if photos of kids / nature / flowers are not your thing
The last two weeks have been pure pleasure. Am in Lebanon for vacation, spring is finally here, and am finally here to watch. I love spring because I think of it as the time of the year where life comes back to nature after being worn out from long, cold winters.
Speaking of flowers, guess who loves flowers too?
You guessed right, Celine.
And Sophia, of course.
Today, I don’t really feel like talking much. Instead, i’ll share some photos of my vacation, needless to say, I like the serenity of being away from the city, stranded in the middle of nowhere.
I love Lebanon because I love the simple things in life. The kind of things that don’t need a lot of work in order to be enjoyed. Such as this cake. Just a simple banana cake. The kind you’d come home after a long day at school and find that your mom has baked while you were away (using the leftover bananas you refused to eat in the morning because they were too ripped).
Its truly amazing that it made with only two tablespoons butter, yet it does not taste healthy at all. It also has the right amount of sweetness without overpowering the taste of bananas. I really hate banana cakes / breads that are overly sweet to the point that you can barely taste the bananas.
A few notes about this cake:
- I used Lebanese bananas while make the cake. These are different from other types of bananas because they are short and fat, (as opposed to the tall, and slim African bananas)
- Use ripen bananas. This is a must. Green bananas will taste bland. Use only yellow, freckled ones. I always check if my bananas are ripened enough for this cake by asking myself if i should through them into the garbage. If the answer is yes, then bananas are good enough for this cake. If the answer is No, unfortunately, I won’t be making this banana cake, but on the bright side, I still have completely edible bananas.
- This cake tastes better the next day. I always make it one day ahead and let all the flavors combine overnight.
- My chocolate chips sunk. But so what? No one complained but me (I only complained because David Lebovitz’s chocolate chips didn’t seem to sink). Speaking of which, use the best chocolate chips you can get your hand on.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Yield: 12 servings
A low fat banana bread that can be made in less than 15 minutes. Recipe adapted from David Lebovitz
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (210g) flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup (150g) sugar
- 2 tbsp (30g) butter, melted
- 1 large egg white
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 cup (250g) banana, mashed, from very ripe bananas
- ½ cup (125ml) plain unsweetened yogurt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (60g) chocolate chips (or use walnuts)
Steps
- Preheat oven to 180C / 350 F / Gas mark 4.
- Butter a standard size loaf pan, dust with flour, line the bottom with parchment paperset aside.
- In am large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and sugar.
- In an another bowl, mix using a fork or large wooden spoon the butter, egg white, egg, banana puree, yogurt, and vanilla.
- Add liquid ingredients to the dry ones. Mix until just combined, you will know when to stop once all the flour has been absorbed. (Resist the urge to over mix, else the cake will be dry). Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes, or until the cake is golden. Cool on a wire rack before serving.
- Store in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 - 4 days.
When was your last vacation? What was the best thing about it? Are you a flower type of a girls (yes, am assuming the majority of my readers are females). Do you love bananas? Or you one of the few majority who loathe it?
P.S. can you guess how many times I’ve said bananas in this post? I hope you won’t go bananas on me for this, cliche, i know. Sorry guys, I just couldn’t stop myself)
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