I realised that the title has made my post not so family-friendly but who are we kidding really? You’d need to censor the whole internet for the kids to not learn any colourful language. The song is all I can think of while I was trying to type this post up. I might have been possessed by Libby too. Anyway, I digress. This post is about the wonderful banana bread that magically emerged from my oven, inspired by Daisy, and uhh… my cold virus. Who else has the urge to bake whenever they are sick? Apart from Izzie Stevens from Grey’s anatomy.

It wasn’t the first time I’ve baked a banana bread, as I always seem to have bananas going black on me. But during our trip to Melbourne, Daisy (who is always baking at odd hours) gave us a piece of her banana bread and I was amazed by how moist and tasty it was. Turns out the recipe is from Taste. I think it must have been the maple syrup that made this particular banana bread special.

Yesterday I woke up with sandpaper in my throat. It’s the worst. Kinda like a footballer with an ankle injury, or a cook with Colles’ fracture. Luckily my next gig isn’t until next Friday… which means plenty of rest until then. And while I nest, I bake.

As usual when I make anything sweet I like to change the recipe to suit my taste. I’ve reduced the sugar, increased the maple syrup, changed half the flour to wholemeal, and added some flaxseed. I’ve also used a large loaf pan (the only one I’ve got) which explains the shape.

Adapted from here

125g Butter, softened
3 tablespoons of Brown Sugar
3 tablespoons Organic Maple Syrup
2 eggs
3 large Bananas, mashed
3/4 cup Wholemeal Flour
3/4 cup Self-raising Flour
1/2 teaspoon Bicarbonate of soda
3 tablespoons Flaxseed

Preheat oven to 170 degree Celsiuc. Grease the loaf pan.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and maple syrup in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition until just combined.

Transfer butter mixture to a large bowl. Add banana. Stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Sift flours and bicarbonate of soda over butter mixture. Stir until just combined. Add the flaxseed and mix well.

Spoon mixture into prepared pans. Smooth top. Bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in centre of loaf comes out clean. Stand in pans for 5 minutes. Turn onto a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or toasted with spread.

I felt instantly better. It’s wonderfully soft with just enough resistance to not break away under my touch, and the flaxseed oil and wholemeal flour added a bit more texture too. Even though I’ve only used very little sugar, the natural sweetness of bananas was sufficient. Now if only I could spread Nutella on this. Must. Resist. Hide it from me!

Thank you Daisy, I’ll be sticking to this recipe from now on!