Sweet Sunday: banana bread

Last week we seem to have gone bananas over banana shopping. Oscar, who always checks our shopping bags, probably thought that his beloved humans were crazy bringing so much fruit into the house. Well, he sort of had a point – we didn’t eat them and by Friday the small left-over bunch of potassium-rich nature’s sweet gifts looked all spotty and unappetising. I pulled out my trusted recipe for a delicious banana bread and went baking.

The original idea comes from Dr. Andrew Weil, so it’s pretty healthy, sugar-free and packed with potassium, magnesium and fibre. It’s made without eggs, so if you are allergic, it’ll make a lovely tea-time treat for you to enjoy. I have replaced canola oil with EV olive oil (because canola isn’t always around) and vanilla essence with fresh seeds. If I made a winter version I substitute vanilla with cinnamon. I also like using cinnamon instead of vanilla sometimes, especially in winter. It’s very important to use small bananas, each weighing 85-90g. These days bananas are often huge, so if you use anything larger than 90g, you may end up with a gooey mess. Weight yours before mashing – sometimes 2 very large bananas do nicely.

BANANA BREAD

INGREDIENTS

3 ripe bananas (90g each, skinless weight)
1/2 cup raw honey
3 tbsp canola oil or EV olive oil, plus a little more for oiling the loaf pan
1 tsp pure vanilla extract or seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean
1 1/2 cups organic whole-wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

DIRECTIONS

• Heat the oven to 175C(fan) degrees. Lightly oil a loaf pan lined with greaseproof paper.
• Mash the bananas and mix with the honey, oil and vanilla.
• Stir together the whole wheat pastry flour and baking soda. Add the nuts.
• Blend the two mixtures and spoon into a loaf pan. Bake for 40 minutes, or until center is set.

Bon Appetite!

Photo source: juriah / 123RF Stock Photo

The way we wore: Burda Moden July 1991

Although I’ve already told you the story about Burda Moden and its impact on my fashion views, it is this particular issue that was the one I’d remember forever. It appeared after a long break away from Burda’s as they became too difficult to find. My mum returned from work clutching the magazine that seemed to have absorbed all the sunshine, blue skies and summer heat on its cover.

That peach hat, the natural make-up, rose dress so sensually draped over the shoulders… If I was given this outfit right now, the hat and all, I’d wear it in an instant.

It was the time when Linda was blonde just after being a brunette and I absolutely fell in love with that equisite profile, the lips, beautiful arched brows and delicate curlers supported by colourful rollers and a pink hair band. I even loved the nails! It was the very first time I saw Evangelista and from that moment on she became my very first and most favourite fashion model.

It was also the time when Karl was quite a few pounds heavier and André Leon Talley had a fashion industry friendly physique.

Outfit number one that I’d happily wear now, too. Oh, those stripes, interesting embroidery detail, statement jewellery (although I’d probably leave out the earrings this time) and, of course, very elegant hair-do. A perfect woman, if you ask me.

Moving on to the second look. The lace dress. Plus the hair and pearl jewellery. LOVE how one of the models is wearing a pearl necklace as a bracelet!

Design from the cover – one template is used for 3 different dresses. Sorbet colours and adorable hats!

I know this dress is  now a bit old-fashioned, but I still adore that shade of blue, the neckline and the hair style.

And here we have “sweet and modest” tribal style accessories. Don’t you just love that hat and bracelets?

Polka-dots! And I’ve been wondering where I got my fondness for polka-dots from… Here is the answer!

And this shot explains my love for stripes… And straw hats. Would you dare wearing this outfit in 2013? I would!

A few DIY ideas for all Burda readers. A studded bag or tennis shoes (notice the laces made of gold coloured rope – brilliant!), an applique for a beach towel or, for the most talented of all, a beach bag and hat that you can make yourself.

These were the most stylish sunglasses of 1991. Retro style heavily influenced by the 1960s as well as Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy and Grace Kelly is replacing the cat eye shapes.

Summer hair styles. I actually loved the third photo on the left so much, I drew that girl in black and white. Also love her bob hair cut.

A pink swim suit covered by little pink and white petals and cherry blossom flowers. I was obsessed about it. The model is just gorgeous – that smile and gorgeous hair are to die for.

A brilliant DIY idea. Take a large piece of thin silk 90x190cm or 90x170cm, soak in water, roll into double rope (see small photo) and leave to dry completely.

Use the gaufre silks to drape into designs as above or follow your own imagination.

If silk DIY isn’t for you, go for DIY jewellery – sea themed necklaces and bracelets are very 2013.

Or you can make beach bags. I adore the blue cube one!

Everyone who enjoyed cooking was given a recipe for peach sorbet: In a blender mix together 500g fresh peaches (skin removed), 150g icing sugar or 200g honey, juice of 1 lemon and vanilla sugar or essence, until it looks like a very smooth pure; transfer in a metal bowl, add 200ml champagne and mix gently to combine; put in a freezer for an hour, then take the bowl out and break the mix using a hand whisk; return the bowl back to the freezer for another hour; just before serving, whisk the sorbet slightly using an eclectic whisk or blender, add 50ml apricot liquor, mix again and serve decorated with mint leaves and pieces of peaches. Alternatively, you can transfer the peach pure into an ice-cream maker and let it do the job – the entire process will take 20 minutes instead of 2 hours.

Hope you enjoyed a bit of fashion time travelling with me. Is there anything that caught your attention?

Sweet Sunday: carrot cake

Carrot cake is my favourite British cake. I guess it’s got a lot to do with that yummy combination of cinnamon, all spice, orange and caramel flavours that blend and tease my taste buds. I also like the fact that it’s made with wholegrain flour because I don’t really eat anything made with the white one.

Carrot cake was my Everest for a very long time. I’ve tried numerous recipes, but nothing ever worked and totally killed my enthusiasm for a while.

However, a couple of months ago I decided to give it another go. I found this recipe that had all the original carrot cake ingredients including the wholegrain flour, brown sugar, orange peel and nuts and a better version of the icing (I don’t like butter-based icings). It worked! Not only that – it tasted lovely, too. The only problem I had was the sweetness level. I don’t do very sweet cakes (or desserts in general). To understand what sort of sweetness I find tolerable, just think of a 90% cocoa chocolate or, in fruit equivalent, mango. This is perfect sweetness for me. Anything else is too sweet.

As a result I have changed my recipe slightly to reduce the amount and quality of sugar without losing the deliciousness of the cake. I’ve also reduced the amount of oil a little – it didn’t affect the quality of the cake at all. Additionally, I played with the quantities of spices to suit my taste (I prefer more cinnamon than all spice unless it’s Christmas), didn’t include any coconut and used plain flour rather than self-raising (always do as I don’t believe in a need for raising flour). I made the icing with half-fat crème fraiche (the one I use doesn’t have any thickeners, it’s still 100% milk) because I find that the slightly lighter texture is more pleasant to taste (the original version was a bit too rich). Do remember to use organic ingredients whenever possible, especially when it comes to dairy and eggs.

Not only I chose to make it for my little birthday celebration, I also managed to photograph the actual cake before it disappeared. Smiles all around, I’d say.

CARROT CAKE

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CAKE

2 large organic eggs

125ml EV olive oil

145g raw light brown muscovado sugar or, even better, light brown muscovado sugar and organic rapadura sugar (I use 50/50)

200g organic wholegrain flour

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp all spice

1 tsp organic bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp organic baking powder

50g organic sultanas

200g organic carrots, peeled and coarsely grated

1 organic orange, zest only, finely grated

50g organic walnuts, chopped

FOR THE ICING

250g organic mascarpone

250g organic crème fraiche

1 tbsp rapadura sugar (you can use raw light brown sugar but mix it in longer to dissolve the grains)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 vanilla bean, seeds only

50g organic walnuts, chopped

DIRECTIONS

• Pre-heat the oven to 170C fan. Grease 2 18-20cm cake tins and line them with grease-proof paper.
• In a large bowl mix together the flour, spices, baking soda and baking powder.
• In a separate bowl mix together the oil, sugar and eggs and whisk with an electric whisk for 2-3 minutes until combined.
• Add dry ingredients to the oil and egg mixture. Then mix in the carrots, orange peel, nuts and raisins.
• Divide the mixture between the tins and bake for 30 minutes (for 20cm tins) or 35 (for 18cm tins) until risen, springy to touch and a tooth pick inserted in a center comes out clean.
• Leave to cool the cakes in tins.
• Once the cake is ready to assemble, make the icing by whisking together the mascarpone, crème fraiche, vanilla, sugar and cinnamon until combined.
• Ice the cake, decorate with chopped walnuts and leave to rest in the fridge overnight.

Bon Appetite!

Photo source: personal

Sweet Sunday: French flourless chocolate cake

I found a recipe for this cake in Michel Montignac’s book several years ago and it became one of my favourite recipes to use whenever I crave something delicious, light and healthy. There are quite a few good things about this cake. This impressive dessert with a mousse-like texture is easy to make and has a low glycaemic index, which basically means that it won’t affect your blood sugar and figure the way most other cakes would (subject to portion control – still no miracles here, I am afraid). It’s not only flourless, it’s also made without added sugar, butter or cream. All you need is chocolate and eggs. That’s it.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

INGREDIENTS

310g dark chocolate (70% of higher) plus

100g dark chocolate for topping (sometimes I replace it with cocoa powder or ground walnuts)

broken into pieces

10 large eggs, separated

YOU WILL ALSO NEED

20cm round spring form tin, baking paper, two very large mixing bowls and electric mixer

IMPORTANT

The secret is to have your own as hot as possible and to work quickly once your chocolate has melted. Use the best quality ingredients for a rich but not overpowering delight.

TIP

This cake can be frozen to up to a month. Slice before freezing, so you can defrost just enough for a delicious dessert.

DIRECTIONS:

• Line a 20cm (8 inch) round spring form tin with baking paper, both the bottom and the side. The collar lining the side of the tin should rise a few inches above the top of the tin. Preheat oven to 250C (gas mark 9).
• Place a large clean dry bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Put 310g chocolate in the bowl to melt, stirring often.
• Put the egg whites in a large bowl and, using a hand-held electric mixer, beat until stiff peaks form. Do not overbeat.
• Transfer the bowl with the melted chocolate from the pan to a work surface. Gently stir the beaten egg yolks into the chocolate. Add a couple of tablespoons of the egg white and stir just to combine. Quickly and gently fold in the rest of the egg white until the mixture has the consistency of a soufflé or light mousse. Do not overmix.
• Pour the chocolate mixture into the tin and bake in the oven for 8 minutes exactly. Remove the pan from the oven and cool for 30 minutes, then chill in the refrigerator for 12 hours or overnight. Do not take it out of the tin yet.
• To finish, take the cake out of the refrigerator and turn out onto a large plate or a piece of cling film on a flat surface. Melt the extra chocolate in the same way as in step 2. Pour a thin film of chocolate over the cake and spread evenly with a spatula. Chill in the refrigerator for 5 minutes. To serve, dip a sharp knife in hot water and use to slice the cake.

Bon Appetite!

P.S. I promise to replace a picture of chocolate with a photo of the actual cake later today.

Sweet Sunday: triple chocolate muffins

This weekend I baked some triple chocolate muffins to celebrate the National Chocolate Week and thought I’d share a recipe with you because it’s basically to die for.

Mmmmmmmm… Chocolate. One of the best things in the world. My personal favourite is the darkest dark 90% cocoa kind, it’s heavenly and all about the real flavour without unnecessary distractions, particularly sugar (the chocolate math is simple – the darker the chocolate the less sugar it will contain). I know for the fact that my 10g a day is like a delicious medicine packed with antioxidants, especially epicatechin that may reduce risk of stroke, heart failure, cancer and diabetes and the knowledge makes it even better and more delicious.

Once autumn comes around a piece of chocolate becomes an essential part of my breakfast because it’s just comforting to have a cup of green tea and feel tiny chocolate bites melting on my tongue making every day a little bit more special and life – sweeter.

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

250g plain flour

25g plain cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

85g each plain and white chocolate broken into chunks

100g milk chocolate broken into chunks

2 large eggs, beaten

284ml soured cream

85g light muscovado sugar

85g butter, melted

Makes 12 small or 6 large muffins

Tip: I often use 100g dark and 100g milk chocolate and leave the white one out completely.

DIRECTIONS

• Heat oven to 200C / fan 180C. Butter 12 holes of a muffin tin and line with muffin cases.
• In a large bowl combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda and chocolate. In a separate bowl mix together the eggs, soured cream, sugar and butter.
• Add soured cream mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined and fairly stiff. Don't over mix - the mixture should look quite lumpy. Spoon the mixture into the muffin tin to fill holes generously.
• Bake for 20 minutes until well risen. Leave in the tin for about 15 mins as the mixture is quite soft. Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack. Eat while still warm and the chocolate is gooey, but they taste great cold, too.

Source: Recipe via GoodFood magazine circa 2005

Photo source: personal

Sweet Sunday: custard tart

I know it’s been aged since I publish my last Sweet Sunday post, but somehow I don’t think about baking desserts much in summer because ice-cream seem to jump to the top of my list and satisfy me in the most delicious and indulgent way.

Nevertheless, today we are not talking ice-cream. Instead, I would like to introduce you to the custard tart – so very English, decadent, creamy and beautiful this dessert is loved and adored in our household.

Although it’s delicious as soon as it cools down, it’s best to make it a night before serving – once the tart has time to set in a comforting cool darkness of your fridge, it taste even better.

So lets start cooking.

CUSTARD TART

Serves 6-12.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE SWEET SHORTCRUST PASTRY

250g plain flour

pinch of salt

150g cold butter

75g caster sugar

1 egg yolk

1 whole large egg

FOR THE CUSTARD FILLING

300ml organic full-cream milk

300ml organic double cream

4 large eggs

140g custard sugar

1/2tsp vanilla extract

freshly grated nutmeg

YOU WILL ALSO NEED

20cm loose-bottomed fluted flan tin, baking sheet, saucepan, jug, parchment paper and dry beans for blind baking (you can get proper ceramic baking beans or a 500g bag of dry beans or rice – whichever one you choose, you can use it over and over again; just cool down and keep in some pretty jar)

DIRECTIONS:

• To make the pastry sift together the flour and salt, then add chopped butter and rub together until you get a crumble texture.

• Add sugar and ground nutmeg followed by the eggs. Work everything together either in a bowl or on a cold surface. Roll into a ball, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

• Roll the cold pastry on a work surface. I always find it helpful to roll the dough between two sheets of cling film or greaseproof paper. This way it doesn’t stick to the rolling pin and is very easy to transfer into and shape inside the baking tin.

• Once the pastry is in, line the flan tin with greaseproof paper or foil and fill with baking beans. Chill for 10 minutes. Now the pastry case is ready for blind baking.

• In a meantime pre-heat the oven to 180C fan/200C. Bake the pastry case for 15 minutes until golden, then take it out of the oven, remove the beans and paper, carefully pat the surface with a paper towel and prick with a fork all over (make sure that you don’t pierce the surface through).

• Return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.

• Take the tin out of the oven and reduce the temperature to 130C fan / 150C.

• For the filling whisk the eggs and sugar in a large bowl until combined. In a large saucepan mix the milk, cream and vanilla and bring to the boil.

• Pour the milk/cream mixture over the eggs whisking as you go. Once combined sieve into a jug.

• Put the flan tin onto the baking tray sitting on the oven shelf, then pour the custard mix into the pastry shell right to the top. Sprinkle the surface with freshly grated nutmeg and slide into the oven.

• Bake for 45 minutes. Once ready, the tart should be pale yellow and set with a light wobble in the middle. Depending on the oven, you may need to bake it for extra 10-15 minutes.

• Cool on a wire rack, then refrigerate.

Bon Appétit!

Photo source: personal