A few months ago, gripped by baking fever, I purchased Mary Berry's Baking Bible. I quickly decided to embark upon a mission to bake everything in the book, and turn myself from an occasional baker into a bit of an expert. My Grandad Ern was a Master Baker by trade; the man responsible for introducing Danish Pastries to England in fact, and I wish it had occurred to me to spend more time learning from him, rather than simply enjoying the fruits of his effortless labours. This project is almost a way of making amends for that; I'd like to follow in his footsteps (if not in my career, at least as a hobby) and continue the proud heritage of baking in my family.
I credit my friend Rachel with the idea to write a blog about my baking exploits, hoping that there will be more successes than failures as I attempt all 213 of the Queen of Baking's recipes.
So as not to bore the husband with a monotonous diet of sponges, followed by weeks of biscuits, I've decided to tackle the recipes by selecting the first bake from each chapter, followed by the second recipe and so on. I'm not going to pick and choose; I'm determined to face my baking demons and learn how to do everything baking-related, even if the consequences are disastrous!
Everything will be photographed, with comment about how I found baking it, and a husband rating (to be taken with a pinch of salt as he has a very selective cake-tooth).


Thursday, 6 December 2012

31. Banana Loaf

What to do with some over-ripe bananas? Bake banana bread of course! I've made this several times before, although not to Mary's recipe, so knew it would be a nice, straightforward bake. I did worry that the bananas might be that little bit too mushy, but the recipe stipulated 'the riper the better' and actually they weren't too bad when I peeled them. The recipe was very easy - no bells and whistles needed, just the usual mixture for a sponge (following the all-in-one method) with the bananas added, which I'd mashed up beforehand.


The only issue I had was with the size of the loaf tin. I had a large one and two small ones; neither of which were labelled by weight. I didn't dare rely on my intuition, so I just checked the size of the tins I used for the malt loaves I baked earlier in the year and established I'd used two 1lb tins. So instead of baking one big loaf, I made two small ones. Very handy for stopping over-indulgence. There is now a lovely banana loaf nestling in the freezer for future emergencies. For small cakes, I was surprised they needed an hour to cook; something warned me that splitting the mixture into two smaller tins might require less cooking time, so I opted for 45 minutes instead, and they were cooked perfectly.
Baker's verdict: really simple to make; a great bake for those spontaneous baking urges! Tasted great.
Husband rating: 7.5/10 - totally guessing because I can't remember. I think I enjoyed it! (He did - I have a better memory, but must remember to update my blog in a more timely fashion)
UPDATE: I've baked these a couple of times since, and today (18th June 2013), husband has decided to give them 9/10 - they're lovely and moist, almost gooey but light at the same time. Nice pieces of banana in it and really strong banana flavour. The edges were nice, almost a bit crispy.

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