Banana Cake Recipe

Banana cake, Carrot cake, lemon yogurt cake. What is it about baked goods prefixed by a fruit that make them seem slightly healthier for you and therefore quite pleased that you ate them? In this case, I have to admit to you that this delicious banana cake will make you feel pleased you ate it for all the wrong reasons! This easy banana cake recipe is courtesy of a colleague I use to work with. She is my go to chef for traditional recipes that arn’t too fancy and just involve good old fashioned cooking. The original recipe produces an uniced cake that comprises a buttery, caramel flavour with the addition of sour cream for a moist but fluffy crumb. I have made it extra indulgent by smothering it in a delicious cream cheese frosting, with walnuts generously sprinkled on top for extra crunch.

We normally start off with  full fruit bowl on Sunday night and by Friday, it consists of a few rejected overripe  bananas – prefect for turning into a cake. We all know, the less edible the bananas ( read, soft,  brown and spotty), the better the cake! I have to confess I might go grocery shopping and purposefully buy more bananas than I know my household can eat, purely so that by the end of the week I have the essential ingredient waiting and the perfect excuse to bake.

 Alex and I set a challenge for ourselves to cook and shoot a banana cake “on location”. Alex travelled to Sydney, my new hometown for the next 12 months to visit me over the weekend. We managed to cram alot into two days including making a curry from scratch, eating gelato from Messina in Darlinghurst that has been voted the best  in Australia , picnic in Rushcutters Bay Park, a night in the city, breakfast from Pieno in Surry Hills, a trip out to Ikea,  and of course baking.

We spent Saturday like we do most days: morning run (this time with spectacular view of Sydney Harbour), stopping for a coffee and yummy muffin (from Toby’s Estate in Potts Point) on the way home and then making a mess as we cooked, this time in my kitchen. We utilised the utensils I had in my apartment and photographed the cake on my balcony. Despite being out of our comfort zone and cooking with a new oven, the cake turned out better than expected and eating it capped off a pretty sweet weekend all round.

We hope you make use of any overripe bananas and enjoy this banana cake recipe as much as we did!

Anzac Biscuits Recipe

When April 25th approaches in Australia, Two things come to mind: celebrating our war heroes and a day off – Anzac Day.  This national public holiday enables us to remember and celebrate the service of our veterans as well as enjoy the other tradition synonymous with Anzac day, Anzac biscuits.

Anzac biscuits have to be one of the easiest and economical biscuits you can make. Their history does indeed date back to World War 1 when the wives, mothers and girlfriends of the Australian soldiers were concerned for the nutritional value of the food being supplied to their men. The problem though was that any food the women intended to send to their men traveled to them on ships for periods of over two months without refrigeration. So a body of women came up with the answer: to create a cookie that combine rolled oats, sugar, butter, coconut, flour and golden syrup or treacle. All these items did not readily spoil and were staples in many households.

The interesting thing about Anzac biscuits is the omission of eggs to bind the mixture together. Because of the war, poultry farmers had joined the service and therefore eggs were scare or expensive. Golden syrup or treacle thus acts as the binding agent. ( I also think it adds a delicious sweetness that you would not otherwise get if eggs were used).

To ensure the biscuits remain crisp, they were packed in used tins. The tins were airtight and thus no moisture or air was able to soak into the biscuits and make them soft.

There are however two teams when it comes to biscuits or cookies. Those who like them crunchy and those who like them soft; and in my house, a war can often break out as to how I should be making our Anzacs. My mother likes them crisp and my dad prefer them soft and chewy.

To cater for everyone, I bake some of the Anzacs a bit longer, an extra 5 or 10 mins to crisp them up. If making a batch that I know only my mum will devour, I add more sugar, about an 1/4 of a cup, which also helps to make them crunchy.

When mum use to make these biscuits for me when I was young (oh how the tables have turned) she would add sultanas. I have adopted her ways and I nearly always add them to my mixture. They provide a sweet burst of flavour. You can however leave them out if you prefer the traditional Anzac recipe.

These Anzac biscuits are best enjoyed with a cup of tea like a traditional English breakfast or earl grey.  It’s also quite obvious, given their history, that they also make a great lunch box treat. If you make a batch of these, I’m sure everyone will be a pretty happy soldier.

How do you spend your Good Friday?  This day means different things to many people and I’m sure we all spend it in a way that is personal and true to ourselves.   There is no denying though that when Easter starts to approach, our shops and bakeries are filled with the delicious aroma of spices emanating from sticky sweet hot cross buns. While we can’t seem to escape the fact that these delightful treats start to pop up just after Christmas, traditionally they are only enjoyed on Good Friday. How they are enjoyed is also a personal choice, toasted or untoasted, butter or nutella or just fresh and warm straight from the bag as you leave the shop.

When I was younger, hot cross buns only came in the traditional variety, with fruit, spices and orange peel (much to the disgust of my childhood self). Now you can walk into any bakery or grocery store and be presented with more than 5 different varieties ranging from choc chip to white chocolate and cranberry.

Alex and I decided to spend our Good Friday the way any day of rest should be spent. Eating, drinking coffee, baking and hanging in the park in the sun.  When deciding what to bake today, something to do with Easter and hot cross buns was a no brainer. We thought of adding our own twist to hot cross buns but thanks to Coles and Woolworths, pretty much every variety of bun involving some sort of variation to the traditional  bun been tried (fruitless anyone?) So, we thought we would make a cross (no pun intended) between a bun and a cookie and so we produced these yummy hot cross cookies.  The recipe is courtesy of Donna Hay and we added our touch by omitting the mix spice and the lemon rind (you’re welcome kids) adding more sultanas and piping the crosses on with a sauce bottle(Yes, this is what you have to resort to when your other half throws out the piping bag and the nozzles!)

The result was well worth the burns to the hand and the mess on the kitchen floor. We ended up with beautiful round cookies that rose to a dome like shape which resembled a cute bun. They were definitely a hybrid of a cookie and a bread as they had a had a soft cakey texture and were light and fluffy without crumbling to pieces.  They also had that signature hot cross bun taste of cinnamon and fruit and, having been for a run this morning, I even enjoyed one split in half with some butter ( how all good hot cross buns should be eaten!)

We hope you enjoy the Easter long weekend, however way you intend to spend it.

I have a fondness for cupcakes. I like them. A lot. Out of all the things that one could possibly bake, cupcakes are my favourite. I don’t know what it is about them but I get a really pleasure out of producing a batch of pretty cupcakes. They don’t take very long to make so you can whip them up in half an hour and they are perfect for satisfying a sweet craving without feeling like you have over indulged.

In Melbourne there are several specialised cupcakes stores popping up around the CBD. Little Cupcakes on Degraves Street is probably the most infamous, but there is also Joy Cupcakes and the Cupcake Bakery. While the cupcakes in these stores look delicious and come in marid of tantalising flavours, I have sampled cupcakes from each and I have to say I have been disappointed every time. I am often presented with a dry, tasteless cupcake. For this reason, I think you can’t beat a homemade cupcake.  There is something  really special about eating a homemade cupcake. You can often taste the real butter and vanilla and I think there is no substitute for a handmade creation.

I have been baking for a while now, and this vanilla cupcake recipe is something that I have perfected over the last three years ( mainly by following the tips below). While cupcakes appear easy, like any cake (or baking recipe) for that matter, you need to get the technique right to avoid an end product that disappoints. (Take note, cupcakeries).

I have detailed here what I think are the common mistakes that result in a dry tasteless cupcake. If you are someone who bakes regularly you will probably already be familiar with these tips.

Firstly have all ingredients at room temperature.   This will help all the ingredients blend properly and stop the eggs becoming curdled. A quick tip for bringing butter to room temperature is to grate it. To bring eggs to room temperature, follow this tip.

Secondly, don’t over mix the batter. Over mixing causes a dry, tough cake. Flour contains two proteins, gliadin and glutenin. They react with liquids and join together to form long strands of gluten – which provides structure in baked goods. When gluten becomes tough, it results in a chewy texture.  Liquids, salt and mixing all toughen gluten, therefore your cake batter should be mixed as little as possible to prevent toughening the gluten.

If when you bite into your cupcakes you notice holes throughout the cake crumb (referred to as tunnels), this is an indication of over mixing.  To avoid over mixing, when adding the flour and milk to the creamed ingredients, add it in batches and only stir or mix the batter for 3 seconds or until the ingredients are just incorporated. My recipe calls for adding the flour and milk alternatively in two batches. I have also tried adding it in three batches, beginning and ending with flour. Adding it in three batches works better. However I usually add it in two as I find separating the ingredients in two batches is easier.

Thirdly, cook only one pan of cupcakes at a time. Having made over 50 cupcakes for a birthday party, I found that to have prefect cupcakes, you need to bake one pan at a time. I’m not sure how the science of ovens works so just take my word for it!

A few more tips that I have found help:

• Beat the butter and sugar until the butter is pale and almost an ivory colour. Compare it with butter that is not creamed and make sure it is a few shades lighter than the yellow of the non creamed butter. Rub the mixture between your fingers and it should feel slightly grainy.
• Beat the eggs for at least a minute to ensure they are incorporated properly
• Use an ice cream scoop or a  1/3 measuring cup to fill the cupcake cases to ensure even cakes.

When it comes to decorating cupcakes, this is the fun part. While I create a slight mess when I make the cupcakes, preparing the icing often results in me, the kitchen and every appliance in it covered in icing also.

I like to use a simple butter cream frosting. I flavour  it with vanilla but you can use a dye to tint it any shade you like. Being a buttercream, it results in icing that has a slightly yellow tinge. If you are after an icing that is whiter, you can use this recipe, for mock cream from the Australian Women’s Weekly.

This is a white chocolate cupcake recipe and I have to admit this is my signature recipe.  While the frosting does not contain white chocolate, I simple sprinkle shards of white chocolate over the top. The combination of vanilla, butter and white chocolate is pure heaven.