Banana & Date Mini Loaves

Last night I was eager to bake or make something - there are not many of us eating in the house right now - and it is way too early to be baking things for Solstice - so my options are fairly limited. But, nevertheless, I had bananas ready to be used and some ideas....

I love these flavours and smells, especially this time of year - cinnamon, banana, date, nutmeg - all warm and toasty yet gentle on the system. With this in mind I decided to expand my usual muffin making routine a little bit further.

With children, muffins are handy little breads to have around, but so are mini loaves. Right now with only small mouths to feed, I don't need to make large amounts of anything. But also, when we are all back  eating again, mini loaves such as these can be used for little desserts.

Banana and Dates also go together quite well, they are both sweet, sticky and take well to the addition of nutmeg or cinnamon. With this recipe I decided to add a little bit extra to it to fill it out a little more, so I added some coconut as well.

Starting with my usual 3 cups of white/whole spelt flour blend, I added baking soda, baking powder, a little salt, nutmeg, and ground coconut. I love the taste of coconut too and I always think I should be using it far more in recipes, I try to fit it in where possible.

For the wet ingredients I used a duck egg, 1 cup of goat's milk, 1/4 cup date syrup and 3 mashed bananas. Once these were all blended in a medium sized mixing bowl (still chunky with banana bits) I added this mixture to the flour.

In the meantime I had chopped 1/2 cup of dates into smallish pieces - these went in last after the batter was mixed enough. Of course some of them stick together, so be sure to separate as you stir. However, I never like to over stir anything - so don't overdo it.

Using mini loaf pans, spoon the batter into each pan and bake in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes. They will be moist and delicate when done... These can also be made into 12 large muffins or 4 small loaves. 

Lovely! 

Banana & Date Loaf 

It's Been A Cake Week

This week I have been interested in making cakes and have made three so far - cinnamon cake, a light fruit and nut cake and a banana cake. We have another celebration coming up this weekend and I wanted loads of different treats on hand.

I love making cakes, they are versatile, easy to serve with other things and everyone loves them with ice cream, fruit sauce or a goat's cheese frosting. Cakes are such an old fashioned item, have been made for centuries (or far longer) and are quite the comfort food.

They are also all about celebration - which for us it just what is needed for this coming weekend with the Autumn Equinox or Mabon. I have been looking at older recipes for this occasion with very ordinary ingredients.

Some of these recipes can be the same as traveling back in time - the final outcome has been eaten by our ancestors for as long as we have been cooking. A cake presents a special ending to a satisfying meal and when made for that occasion can lend a great finishing touch.  

For each of these I used white spelt flour for a complete change. I have found it easy to work with, not unlike wheat, however it does soak up liquids a little differently from the wholegrain spelt. I do like the colour of each cake as well, they are lighter with the other ingredients standing out more. 

This week, I wanted to use up the bananas in the house so decided to make a banana cake - but for a little difference I added apple butter in through the top of the batter just before baking it. It smells great, and I can't wait to taste it.

Banana cake with apple butter 

For the fruit cake, I put in lots of fruit and a few walnuts to make it rich and moist. It was sweetened  with apple sauce and maple syrup. Fruit cake would not normally be something I would go for, however as my tastes have changed, I wanted to try to make one.

Fruit and nut cake 

Lastly I made a cinnamon cake, this one is just an ordinary cake with the standard ingredients, but I did put in lots of nuts. It should be very spicy with the freshly ground cinnamon as well. 

For a quick frosting, I normally whip creamed goat's cheese with a little butter and maple syrup. This is absolutely delicious with a great sweetness and spreads onto the cake in the same way as any other sugar frosting. 

Well, lots more cooking to do tomorrow - my last day of this 10 day Master Cleanse for this month. Can't wait to eat some food and move onwards and upwards!

Have a lovely foodie day,

April

Banana cake with apple butter on top- it smells lovely!