Coconut Lime Banana Bread

Overripe, squishy, spotty bananas are just banana bread that you haven’t made yet. And since everyone seems to have over ripe bananas at the moment, I thought it’s the perfect time to add a slightly different banana bread recipe.

What you will need –

1. Bananas – 4 medium, over-ripe
2. Egg – 1 large
   (For Vegan option – mix 1 tablespoon flaxseed powder with 2.5 tablespoons of water)
3. Light oil – 2 tablespoons (vegetable/canola)
4. Light coconut milk – 1/2 cup
   (Sub with any other milk for non-coconut version)
5. Zest of 1 lime
6. Lime juice – 3 tablespoons
7. All purpose flour – 1 cup 
8. Whole wheat flour – 1/2 cup 
9. Oat flour – 1/2 cup
10. Baking powder – 1 teaspoon
11. Baking soda – 1 teaspoon
12. Salt – 1/4 tsp
13. Honey – 1/2 cup (Adjust to taste)

Method –

1. Preheat oven for 160°C.
   
2. Mash together the 4 bananas in a large bowl.
   
3. Whisk egg, oil, coconut milk, lime zest and juice, and honey (if you like your bread on the sweet side) into the mashed bananas. Set aside.
   
4. In a separate bowl, mix together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
   
5. Slowly mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients until completely incorporated.
   
6. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan with oil/butter. Pour batter into pan. Slice a banana length-wise and top the batter (optional).
   
7. Bake for 60-75 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from middle. Let cool on a rack before slicing.

Storage notes –

Once cooled, store in an airtight box in the fridge for up to 5 days.

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If you make this recipe, you know the drill: Let me know!

Take a picture, tag @the_slow_kitchen on Instagram and use #theslowkitchen on your posts!

Date pudding with sticky toffee glaze

Sticky toffee pudding is a classic British dessert consisting of a date infused cake sponge with a hot toffee sauce poured on top. Even if you don’t like dates, it’s likely you will enjoy this dessert. The dates melt down into a golden sweetness, deepening the flavour of the cake sponge. Add vanilla ice cream or whipped cream to round it off and you’ve got yourself a sensation.

This recipe is my adaptation of the classic. I use salt and lemon to offset and tone down the intense sweetness.

What you will need –

For Date Pudding

1. Soft dates – 150 grams, deseeded
2. Boiling Water – 150 ml
3. Butter – 30 grams (sub with 22ml or 1/8th cup oil for vegan option)
4. All purpose flour – 100 grams 
5. Brown sugar – 50 grams  
6. Egg – 1 large (sub with flaxseed egg)
7. Vanilla extract – 1/2 teaspoon 
8. Baking powder – 1 teaspoon
9. Baking soda – 1/2 teaspoon  
10. Salt – 1/4 teaspoon

For Toffee Glaze

1. Muscovado (Khandsari) sugar – 60 grams (sub with brown sugar)
2. Water – 2 tablespoons
3. 150 ml fresh cream (sub with coconut milk for vegan option)
4. Butter – 1 tablespoon (sub with coconut oil for vegan option)
5. Salt – Generous pinch
6. Lemon juice – 1/2 tablespoon

Method –

1. Place the dates in a bowl, add hot water, cover and keep aside for 10 mins.
   
2. Meanwhile preheat oven to 170°C. Grease and line a 6″ round baking tin with parchment paper. (For individual servings, use small ramekins or puddings moulds)
   
3. Add butter to the bowl of dates. Stir to melt the butter.
   
4. Blend the date and butter mix to make a smooth paste
   
5. Once cool, add egg and vanilla extract to the date paste. Whisk to combine.
   
6. In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
   
7. Add dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients. Whisk to combine. Do not over mix.
   
8. Pour batter into the prepared baking tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or till the skewer inserted comes out clean.
   (If using ramekins or small moulds, bake for only 30 mins)
   Leave the pudding in the pan for 10 minutes to cool.
   
9. While the pudding is cooling, prepare the toffee sauce.
   To a saucepan, add sugar and water. Place on medium high heat and whisk continuously.
   
10. The sugar will melt and turn into a bubbly liquid in less than 5 mins. When the colour turns a little darker, add butter, salt, lemon juice and whisk continuously.
    
11. Add cream or coconut milk, turn the flame to low and simmer for another 5 mins.
    
12. When the cake has cooled sufficiently, gently invert it on a serving plate. Poke several holes with a skewer.
    
13. Pour half the toffee sauce over the cake. Reserve the remaining to be poured over individual servings.
    
14. Add some chopped walnuts on top and serve immediately.
    Add a scoop of ice cream if you’re feeling super indulgent.

Storage notes –

It keeps for days and days in the fridge and once reheated, it’s just like it’s fresh out of the oven.

If you make this recipe, you know the drill: Let me know!

Take a picture, tag @the_slow_kitchen on Instagram and use #theslowkitchen on your posts!