Daring Bakers February Challenge - Quick Bread

banana bread, with plenty of walnuts!


The Daring Bakers’ February 2012 host was – Lis! Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own. She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavor profiles.

OMG I am so late and I've missed so many challenges!! Determined to complete March's challenge and post it. URGH!



lovely crumb and texture

So for the previous month, I've made a banana bread with plenty of walnuts. Bananas were expensive in Perth before I went back, at around 6 dollars a kilogram due to the floods in Queensland, where the bananas came from. I was so devastated that when I was back in Singapore, I made sure there was bananas in the house all the time since its perpetually cheap. Prices fell again this summer, back to 1.60 AUD a kilogram, which was way more reasonable and so here comes bananas in the house! =D Speaking of which, this is my first baking project in the new house!! WOOHOO! It worked! nomnomnom

I really love this banana bread, simply because my lovely friend, V.Lo mixed it for me while I watched her do it. Deft hands, dainty movements with loads of love, one can only expect the bread to taste amazing. And it did. Food from the heart always tastes better.


unknowingly finished the slices that I've cut for the photos.. oops

Recipe
from Joe Pastry

2 overripe bananas, made about 3/4 cup banana
3/4 tbs buttermilk
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
55g butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg at room temperature
a cup of chopped walnuts, to spread on top

1. Preheat oven to 185 deg C.
2. Mash the banana, lemon juice and buttermilk together.
3. Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer until light and fluffy, pale yellow in color. Then add eggs one by one whilst beating between each addition.
4. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix gently, followed by 1/2 of the banana mixture, then another 1/3 of the flour mixture, then remaining 1/2 of the banana mixture, and then the last 1/3 of the flour mixture. Gently mixing after each addition. Do not overmix!
5. Leave at least a few streaks of white (flour mixture) to ensure that you do not overmix. Remember to scrape the bowl a lot! Scrape it into the pan and spread the chopped walnuts on top. Alternatively, swirl the chopped walnuts in gently with a spatula
6. Bake for an hour until firm and toothpick test comes out clean. Cool it in the pan, before slicing and enjoying!


Pressure points and top tips! (from trial and error) =D

1. Don't overmix. Leaving that few streaks of flour ensures that the gluten in the flour isn't overly activated, which would lead to a bread with tough leathery texture.

2. Use really really really ripe bananas because the flavor from the banana will be really intense.

3. Eat the batter. Its delicious.


nomnomnom

musings.

a beautiful sunset in the evening whilst we were up in the mountains of Taiwan. if we were just 1 minute away from the spot that we stopped to get this shot, we would have never saw this sunset. it was as if the events of the day conspired to bring us to that exact moment

I'm still alive but I'm barely breathing.

Choy! But yes, I'm still alive. =)

Its a song lyric, by the way. Haha. ;)

My summer break came and went in a blink of an eye. I'm now back in Perth, preparing for the hustle and bustle of a new term. Been quite a busy holiday actually, running errands, doing chores, squeezing in some cooking and baking, went to Taiwan with my family, gained 6 kg in 6 days, had lots of fun, saw a sunset I'll never forget, moved house, made a couple of mousse cakes for birthdays, caught up with so many friends, made a couple of new friends, and caught a couple of movies. All in all, not an atypical holiday, but nonetheless the perfect holiday.


bread basket, with love. milk loaf, blueberry&pine nut&cinnamon scone, chives&cheese scone

It's interesting how much people change and/or not change during different phases of our lives. At some moments, it was like meeting a new friend all over while at others, it felt as if we've never grown up/apart at all. The familiar laughter, the crass humour, the unique antics, the discovery of new background information of the same friends, the underground scandals of the past eras, the endless gossips of the present eras, the changes in perspectives, and ending with the all too familiar sigh whilst reminiscing.

C'est la vie



scrambled eggs with seared avocados, homemade pistachio wholemeal bread, cheddar sausages. lazy Sunday brunch with family in Singapore

YES. The above was a draft composed 2 months ago. I have been THAT busy, or lazy, depending on the angle you're looking at. ;)

Shall update more consistently now! I shall give myself this commitment!

Well, school so far has been fairly good. Hits and misses but I'm somewhat coping well. Besides even if I'm not, there's always food to fall back on.

Alright I don't know what I'm blogging about anymore for this entry. Too back-dated and all. Till the next one! =)

Daring Bakers' November Challenge - Phillipino Desserts!

Catherine of Munchie Musings was our November Daring Bakers’ host and she challenged us to make a traditional Filipino dessert – the delicious Sans Rival cake! And for those of us who wanted to try an additional Filipino dessert, Catherine also gave us a bonus recipe for Bibingka which comes from her friend Jun of Jun-blog.

Omg I'm posting so late! Have been so busy these few days sigh. Should have drafted the entry way before and then just post it when the check-in date arrives. Oh well! Time eludes me once again.

Back in home sweet home, Singapore, hurrah! Shall blog a more proper entry next time.

San Rivals was good, but not something I'll make again actually. Found the entire combination too rich. Also, none of my friends could stomach it entirely as well and everyone took only 1 mouthful or 2, at best. Perhaps it was partly due to the cake left standing at room temperature for hours, but there wasn't much I could do since it was a friend's party. Poor presentation, I know. Was trying to use up the halloween decorations as it was also a halloween party. =(