Weekly Bake...Banana Bread

I had some not so pretty bananas sitting on my kitchen bench, so decided a little banana bread was in order.  I love banana bread almost as much as my kids do! They would have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner if they could so it never lasts long in our home.  I have tried so many different recipes and so far this is the best.  It's yummy, moist and best of all easy to make! 

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups self-raising flour
1/4 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup, firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup  milk
2 eggs, lightly whisked
50g butter, melted, cooled
2 overripe bananas, mashed (I use 2 large bananas, or 3 medium sized)

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C (as a rule of thumb I usually drop the temperature 20degrees when baking in a fan forced oven). Brush an 11 x 21cm (base measurement) loaf pan with melted dairy spread to lightly grease. Line the base and 2 opposite sides with non-stick baking paper, allowing it to overhang.

 

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.

 

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 rack to cool completely.

 

 

Happy Baking lovelies xx

 

Weekly Bake...Chocolate Chip Biscuits

Last night I decided to bake the kiddies some of their very favourite Chocolate Chip Biscuits.  I get asked to make these all the time by the kids, and when the kids have friends over it's always my go to recipe for a morning or afternoon treat and is always a hit!

I have been using this recipe forever, as have my parents, and my nanna.  The recipe is from my Nanna's Edmonds cookbook which was passed down to me, with the first edition published in 1907!  I love this recipe because it is a basic biscuit recipe and from there you can add whatever you'd like, I usually make a triple chocolate chip version using the Basic Biscuit recipe below, and add about 1/2 to 3/4 cup total of white, milk and dark chocolate, I usually eyeball it...you'll know when there is enough chocolate chips in there...can there ever be to much chocolate!?  I have also made the lemon and orange version which are so yummy too! I also make a version with nuts and sultanas, the sky really is the limit with this recipe.
 

Basic Biscuit Recipe

Ingredients

125 g butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 egg
2 cups plain baking flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2cup to 3/4cup chocolate chips (for chocolate chip biscuits)

Method
Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together until light and fluffy
Add egg, beating well
Sift flour and baking powder into creamed mixture (I add the chocolate chips here)
Mix well (mixture will look crumbly, this is okay)
Roll and push together heaped teaspoonsful of mixture into balls
Place on a greased/lined oven tray and flatten balls down slightly
Bake at 190°C for 12-15 minutes or until pale golden

Chocolate Biscuits
Add 2 tablespoons cocoa when sifting flour

Orange Biscuits

Omit vanilla essence and add 1 tablespoon grated orange rind to creamed mixture

Lemon Biscuits

Omit vanilla essence add 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind to creamed mixture

Happy baking xx

 

 

 

Weekly Bake...Chocolate Mud Cupcakes

This week I thought I would share a recipe for delicious chocolate mud cupcakes. I love the ease of cupcakes, and that they are a little individual serve of sweet goodness.  When there is cake in my home, the size of the slices my children like to cut themselves are insane! So at least with cupcakes I can limit their cake intake!

I have tried this recipe a couple of times now and it is really easy, and so moist and delicious! Apparently the cupcakes also keep well and can be frozen (minus the frosting), though I couldn't tell you because they never last long enough in my home!

For the frosting/icing in this recipe I doubled it, only because I pipe the cupcakes and this tends to use a lot more icing.  If you are going to spread the icing, no need to double the recipe. I also use a gel food colour, as I find it doesn't change the consistency of the frosting. 

Ingredients

Cupcake
200g butter
250g dark chocolate
1/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup self-raising flour
Frosting
125g butter, softened
1 1/2 cups icing sugar mixture
1 teaspoon vanilla extract          
1 tablespoon milk
Food colouring (I use a gel food colour)

Method

Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
Place cupcake liners in cupcake tray.
Place butter, chopped chocolate and hot water in a heatproof, microwave-safe bowl.
Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH (100%) for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every minute until smooth.
Add cocoa to warm chocolate mixture. Stir until smooth.
Stir in vanilla, caster sugar and eggs.
Sift flour over chocolate mixture. Stir gently to combine.
Pour mixture into cupcake liners.
Bake cupcakes for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of a chocolate mud cupcake has moist crumbs clinging.
Allow cupcakes to cool completely before icing.
Frosting
Using an electric mixer, beat butter in a bowl until pale. Gradually add icing sugar and milk, beating constantly until combined.  Add food colouring a little a time, until you have your desired colour.  If you want your frosting thicker for piping, add more icing sugar a little at a time until you have your desired consistency.

Weekly Bake...Lemon Slice & Lemon Cupcakes

I love lemons and I especially love lemons in baking and desserts.  So when presented with some gorgeous lemons I decided that a little baking was in order, delicious Lemon Slice and Lemon Cupcakes.  Both recipes were super easy, and a hit with the kids! Happy baking...

Lemon Slice

Ingredients

Slice

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

100g butter

200g granita biscuits

1 cup desiccated coconut

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind

Lemon Icing

2 cups pure icing sugar

20g butter, softened

2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

Slice

Grease a 3cm deep, 15.5cm x 25cm slice tin. Line base and sides with baking paper, extending paper 2cm above edges of pan.

Place condensed milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until smooth and combined. Remove from heat. 

Using a food processor, process biscuits until fine crumbs. Transfer to a bowl. Add coconut and lemon rind. Stir to combine. Add hot butter mixture. Mix well to combine. 

Press mixture over the base of prepared pan. Cover. Refrigerate for 1 1/2 hours or until firm.

Lemon Icing

Sift icing sugar into a bowl. Add butter and lemon juice. Beat with a wooden spoon until smooth and combined. Spread icing over slice. Stand at room temperature for 30 minutes or until icing has set. Cut into pieces. Serve.

Lemon Cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes

150g unsalted butter

150g caster sugar

175g self-raising flour

3 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 lemon rind finely grated

Lemon Frosting

150g unsalted butter softened

250g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp hot water

1 lemon rind finely grated

Yellow food colouring (optional)

Instructions

Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Line a 12 hole muffin tray with cupcake cases.

Place all of the ingredients into a bowl or food mixer and beat until creamy but light.

Evenly divide the mixture into the 12 cake cases.

Bake for 15-18 minutes until they have risen and are firm to touch.

Cool on a wire rack.

Lemon Frosting

Place the butter and icing sugar into a bowl or food mixer and beat well until smooth and creamy.

Add the vanilla extract, the hot water and the grated lemon rind (and a couple of drops of yellow food colour if desired). Beat again until smooth. 

Once the cupcakes have cooled, spoon or pipe the frosting evenly onto the cupcakes.

Weekly Bake...Weetbix Slice

Today was fortunately one of the few days in the past months that I have not been consumed with fatigue and pain, to mark the occasion I decided some afternoon baking was in order.  My poor children have spent the last few months, pretty much consuming an autoimmune protocol paleo diet...so I decided a little sweet treat for afternoon tea would be perfect.  It was super easy, with little clean up (my kind of recipe) and to top it off the kids loved it!

I spotted this recipe for Gluten Free Weetbix Slice on the lovely Leanne's blog Organising the four of us (click link for original recipe).  I made a couple of changes, replacing the rapadura sugar with coconut sugar.

Ingredients

Slice
170g gluten free Weetbix
200g butter (melted)
30g cacao powder (or cocoa)
170g (or less) coconut sugar
40g coconut
1 egg
Icing
1 cup icing sugar (I make mine using milled coconut sugar)
1 tbsp cacao powder
1 tbsp soft butter

Boiling water

Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C
- Crush Weetbix you could do this in a food processor, I just crushed them by hand into a bowl
- Place melted butter into mixing bowl
- Add Weetbix, cocao, rapadura, coconut and egg and mix until combined
- Press into a lined slice tin
- Bake at 180 degrees for 15-20 minutes
- Set aside to cool completely before icing

Chocolate icing

To make the icing, add the icing sugar and cacao powder into a bowl, add the butter, mix adding boiling water, a tablespoon at a time, until the icing in a thick spreadable consistency. Spread the icing onto the cooled slice.