Going bananas!

Before I visited my sister in Sydney last year, I’ve never tried a hand at baking. My mother used to bake when I was a kid, but my memory fails to bring out a picture of me being involved in the process, except perhaps the eating part. My sister has more fond memories of the baking heydays at home; I guess this is what influenced her in making yummy cakes in her own kitchen several years later. All that baking in her Aussie kitchen rubbed some on me, which I brought home to test during our first-ever clumsy cookfest.

at the Aussie kitchen: cupcakes for my 30th, my first-ever banana bread, Jomy's 2nd bday Spiderman carrot cake with pecan and almond nuts, Jet's 1st bday almond milled chocolate choochoo train cake and the banana bread loaf before the attack! (jet and jomy are my little nephews, by the way)

I decided to come up with banana bread - or cake? the difference is very thin if it exists at all - on my first solo attempt at baking, with critics composed of close friends. Without my sister's presence to guide me, it was a bit unnerving but then, bananas are so common in the Philippines being a tropical country that eventually it felt like I can never go wrong with it.

After getting my recipe reference from taste.com.au and putting on my best Giada de Laurentiis confidence, I started baking. I picked this recipe because this is the simplest and has the most available ingredients in local grocery shops. For this cooking episode, I shopped at Robinson's Supermarket (and MaggieMay's fridge!).

I followed the recipe with a few diversions along the way, such as using more bananas and putting in less sugar (ripe bananas already have lots of sugar in it!). Since the self-raising flour was not available, I mixed two teaspoons of baking powder to each cup of plain flour as alternative. For this banana bread, I dared not divert from the flour measurements, being the novice baker that I am - although eventually it will definitely not hurt to experiment.

Preparation Time

20 minutes

Cooking Time

50 minutes

Makes

1 loaf 

Ingredients

· low-fat dairy spread, to grease

· 1 3/4 cups self-raising flour

· 1/4 cup plain flour

· 1 tsp ground cinnamon

· 1/8 cup, firmly packed brown sugar

· 1/2 cup skim milk

· 2 eggs, lightly whisked

· 50g butter, melted, cooled

· 4 overripe medium bananas, mashed

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush an 11 x 21cm (base measurement) loaf pan (I used a 9x3" cake tin because loaf pan was not available) with melted dairy spread to lightly grease. Line the base and 2 opposite sides with non-stick baking paper, allowing it to overhang.

2. Sift the combined flours and cinnamon into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and make a well in the centre.Place the milk, eggs, melted butter and banana in a medium bowl, and stir until well combined. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and set aside in the pan for 5 minutes. Turn onto a wire or wood rack to cool completely. Cut into slices to serve.

This recipe is good for about 10 persons. Not bad for less than a hundred-peso budget! It's also a good way to make use of overripe bananas rather than putting them to waste; it's definitely nutritious and it tastes good whether eaten fresh from the oven or cool from the fridge.

First entry - DONE! My friends loved it! Or so they say.