I had some over-ripe bananas that needed using up and so I decided to make a banana bread with them. I have baked many banana breads on here, all of them very good. Today I decided to go back to my tried, true and trusted recipe.
It is a recipe from my old Purity Cook Book. This is a cookbook I have had since the late 1970's. It has withstood the test of time and traveled with me all over the world.
How can you tell that a cookbook is a good one. Other than trying the recipes you can tell a cookbook is a really good one by looking at it. If it's all tattered and torn . . . if the pages are all splattered with time.
The pages well worn and almost falling apart . . . then you know that you have a winner of a cookbook on your hands. This book is a winner of a cookbook.
I have been baking this particular banana bread for about 40 years now. It has no bells and whistles. It is not overly sweet. Its quite plain.
It is moist and delicious however, filled with lots of banana flavor and plenty of chopped nuts. In short, a real winner of a banana bread.
Another one of my favorite banana breads is the Sour Cream Banana Loaf I always baked for the Mr. when I worked at the Manor.
He loved it sliced and toasted until golden brown and spread with oodles of sweet butter. Another good banana bread recipe I bake is this one which comes from a cookbook called Bread by Dean Brettschneider. It has oats scattered across the top.
I also have a few smaller recipes such as this Banana Nut Loaf for Two. It is perfectly sized for the smaller family.
This Marbled Banana Bread is also a real favorite. It is a Cooking Light Recipe and is marbled through with ribbons of chocolate batter. Yum!!
As I said up top, this banana bread has no bells and whistles. There is nothing spectacular about it. Its just a simple banana bread.
And you are going to love it. I can promise you. If you are a fan of simple things, then you will be a fan of this.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BANANA NUT BREAD
Ordinary simple kitchen ingredients. Nothing spectacular outside of the ripe bananas.
- 2 cups (280g) all purpose plain flour
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (60g) finely chopped nuts
- 1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
- 3/4 cup (180ml) milk
- 1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups (3 bananas) mashed bananas (very ripe)
The right kind of bananas you need for a banana bread are bananas that have gone past their best eating stage. You want a banana with a skin that is well peppered with brown discolorations. The browner the better.
The riper the banana the sweeter it is. Don't ever throw an over-ripe banana away! They are perfect for baking with! Cakes, loaves, cookies . . .
HOW TO MAKE BANANA NUT BREAD
Preheat the oven to 350*F/ 180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 X 5 X 3 inch loaf tin and line with baking paper with an overhang on two sides for ease of lifting out the baked loaf.
Whisk the flour, soda, baking powder, sugar and salt together in a bowl. Stir in the nuts. (You can toast the nuts first if you wish.
To toast them, spread your nuts out on a baking sheet and pop them into a moderate oven. (350*F/180*C) 8 to 10 minutes will do it. Let cool before using.
Whisk together the mashed banana, milk, oil, and egg. Add to the dry ingredients and mix both together just to combine. Batter will be lumpy.
Turn into the prepared pan. Smooth the top and run a knife down the middle.
This is a really good, simple banana bread. I love to enjoy it cut into thick slices and spread with butter. Real butter. I am betting it would also be great spread with Nutella, if you like Nutella.
Toasted, spread with butter or creamed honey. Again, delicious.
Because the bread is not overly sweet any number of toppings go very well with it. It also goes great in a bread pudding if it happens to go stale. You can sprinkle chocolate chips amongst the bread for this lush dessert. Its fabulous served warm with some vanilla ice cream on top!
In any case the next time you have some ripe bananas that need using up I highly recommend this simple Banana Nut bread. You can't go wrong!
Banana Nut Bread
Yield: 1 (9 X 5 X 3) loaf
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 1 H & 10 MTotal time: 1 H & 20 M
Delicious old fashioned. No bells and whistles. Not too sweet. Just perfect.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (280g) all purpose plain flour
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (60g) finely chopped nuts
- 1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
- 3/4 cup (180ml) milk
- 1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups (3 bananas) mashed bananas
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/ 180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 X 5 X 3 inch loaf tin and line with baking paper with an overhang on two sides for ease of lifting out the baked loaf.
- Whisk the flour, soda, baking powder, sugar and salt together in a bowl. Stir in the nuts.
- Whisk together the mashed banana, milk, oil, and egg. Add to the dry ingredients and mix both together just to combine. Batter will be lumpy.
- Turn into the prepared pan. Smooth the top and run a knife down the middle.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 65 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
This is my quality control guy. I think he's pretty special, don't you? Hello Nutmeg!
I love my Tea Bag Holder. It was a Christmas gift from my friend Paula. She knows I love bees and I just adore this! So pretty! Thanks Paula! xo
All of the content you see here on this page, both photography and written, are the sole property of The English Kitchen, Marie Rayner. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
I had some pastry leftover in the freezer from baking my Tourtiere last weekend for my father's birthday. I decided that I wanted to bake a pie for this weekend.
I didn't want to bake just any pie however I wanted to bake something which is typically Canadian and from my French Canadian Heritage.
My father is French Canadian. We travelled through Quebec off and on through the years and spent summer holidays at my Grandmaman's.
I can remember on one occasion my Aunts and Uncles buying puff pastry and eating it in bowls with rich caramel and loads of sweet cream. The Québécois love anything with caramel. Or at least my Québécois family do.
I also had experienced sugar pie bought at a rest stop in Quebec during the years I was married and raising a family. We drove through Quebec many times. Taste memories are the best kinds.
I went looking for a recipe to make a sugar pie, but then I spied this recipe for a Québécois Sugar Cream Pie in a baking book of mine. The Redpath Canadian Bake Book.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Everything I have baked from it has been exemplary. If you are looking for a good baking book, you can't go wrong!
My photographs for this pie are not near as nice as the one is in the book. It pictures a lovely pie with a golden crust decorated with a Fleur de Lis, which is the flower of Quebec. Very pretty.
I just cut heart shapes out of my top crust to vent it.
One thing which really appealed to me with this pie was its ease of preparation. As you all know I can be a tad bit lazy when it comes to cooking sometimes, and if something promised to be easy AND delicious, I am all for it!
WHAT YOU NEED TO BAKE QUÉBECOIS SUGAR CREAM PIE
Ordinary kitchen staple ingredients. Nothing outrageous here! I like that.
For the pastry:
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter (76g)
1/3 cup lard (or white vegetable shortening) (74g)
5 to 6 tablespoons of ice water
This is the best pastry. I use this butter lard pastry for all my pies, sweet and savory, if I can.
For the Filling:
- 2 cups (480ml) whipping cream (35%)
- 1 cup (180g) lightly packed soft light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (115g) butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (room temperature)
- 1/3 cup (47g) plain all purpose flour
HOW TO MAKE THE PASTRY
You may want to make the pastry the day before, which will speed up the process even more.
- To make the pastry, mix flour with salt, and cut in butter and lard, until you have pieces of fat in the flour about the size of peas. (Use a pastry blender or two round bladed knives.)
- Add ice water, one TBS at a time, tossing it in with a fork until pastry comes together. Shape into a ball and cut in two pieces. Form each piece into a round flat disc. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (Or overnight.)
If you chill the pie crust overnight, take it out of the refrigerator about 1 hour prior to baking.
HOW TO MAKE THE FILLING
- Make the filling while the pastry is chilling. Whisk the brown sugar and flour together in a saucepan. Whisk in the cream and add the butter.
- Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat, until the mixture thickens and comes to the boil. Remove from the heat and set aside, stirring every five minutes, until needed.
HOW TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE THE PIE
You will need to blind bake the bottom crust for 10 to 15 minutes. This is not hard to do.
- Preheat oven to 375*F/ gas mark 5/ 190*C.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll one of the pastry discs into a 12 inch circle. Use this to line a 9 inch pie plate. Trim and flute.
- Line with baking paper or foil and some baking beans. Blind bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 350*C/gas mark 4/ 180*C.
- While the crust is blind baking, roll the remaining pastry out 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut a 9-inch circle out. Cut some holes out in the center for venting the pie.
- Remove the baking beans from the pie. Pour in the filling. Top with the 9 inch pastry circle. Don't worry you just lay it gently on top. There is no need to seal the pie crust edges.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 35 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
- Leave to cool to room temperature before cutting into thin slices to serve. Delicious!
Trust me when I say that the most difficult part of this pie is waiting for it to cool down enough so that you can cut it into slices. This is one of the tastiest pies you could ever want to bake and eat.
Your family will think you have slaved over a hot stove all day to make it. You needn't tell them just how easy it was. That can be out tasty little secret!
If you only bake one dessert this weekend, let it be this pie! 😋😋😋
Québécois Sugar Cream Pie
Yield: 8 - 10 servings
Prep time: 1 HourCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 1 H & 35 M
This is an authentic French Canadian recipe which features a deliciously creamy brown sugar custard filling.
Ingredients
For the pastry:
- 2 cups all purpose flour (280g)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup butter (76g)
- 1/3 cup lard (or white vegetable shortening) (74g)
- 5 to 6 tablespoons of ice water
For the filling:
- 2 cups (480ml) whipping cream (35%)
- 1 cup (180g) lightly packed soft light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (115g) butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1/3 cup (47g) plain all purpose flour
Instructions
- To make the pastry, mix flour with salt, and cut in butter and lard, until you have pieces of fat in the flour about the size of peas. (Use a pastry blender or two round bladed knives.)
- Add ice water, one TBS at a time, tossing it in with a fork until pastry comes together. Shape into a ball and cut in two pieces. Form each piece into a round flat disc. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Make the filling while the pastry is chilling. Whisk the brown sugar and flour together in a saucepan. Whisk in the cream and add the butter. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat, until the mixture thickens and comes to the boil. Remove from the heat and set aside, stirring every five minutes, until needed.
- Preheat oven to 375*F/ gas mark 5/ 190*C.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll one of the pastry discs into a 12 inch circle. Use this to line a 9 inch pie plate. Trim and flute.
- Line with baking paper or foil and some baking beans. Blind bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 350*C/gas mark 4/ 180*C.
- While the crust is blind baking, roll the remaining pastry out 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut a 9-inch circle out. Cut some holes out in the center for venting the pie.
- Remove the baking beans from the pie. Pour in the filling. Top with the 9 inch pastry circle. Don't worry you just lay it gently on top. There is no need to seal the pie crust edges.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 35 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
- Leave to cool to room temperature before cutting into thin slices to serve. Delicious!
- Reduce the oven
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Best Ways To Decorate Kitchen in Budget
Do you want to decorate your kitchen with your favorite theme? But you are worried because your budget is not much. Do not worry! You do not have to sacrifice your style due to budget. You can easily bring freshness and positive vibes without hurting your pocket.
A good looking kitchen and better interior design keep you in a good mood. So before you start your renovation, take a look at these ingenious tricks for decorating the kitchen on a budget.
Fresh up Your Space With Paint
Do not skip your wall! A fresh coat of paint is a budget-friendly way to update your area. Always opt for bright shades which look attractive and eye-catching. You can choose yellow, green, and orange tones, which have a positive impact.
You can paint your wall by yourself. Plus, fresh hues make your area look new, no matter how old it may be. You can also use the paint for your old furniture, so you will not have to spend much money. This will make your furniture look new.
Dress Your Wall With Wall Art
Wall art is very trendy nowadays, and it also livens up your space. Canvas wall art is available at a very low price, and it is also easy to hang. You can buy a metallic, floral print and also take it according to your style. Canvas prints look good on any wall in your home and can give your kitchen a trendy look on a budget.
Decorate Cooling Area With Greenery
Do you want to decorate your kitchen without spending more money? Go for Greenery! It is the best option to fill the empty corners of your area. You can buy a variety of plants from the market as per your choice.
Try to choose a ZZ plant, spider or snake plant, cactus, aloe vera, aglaonema, anthurium, etc. Take an unused mug, bottles and paint them with acrylic colors. You can make a pattern or plain cute and lovely pots and vases. It adds positivity in your area, reduces mental stress, also eliminates negative vibes, and so on.
Consider Affordable Lighting
Obviously, lighting can alter the entire look and feel of your space. It is a crucial element you can introduce in your room for an inviting and relaxing atmosphere. You can buy colorful sheets and bulbs which have yellow and white light.
Of course, you can make a circle, rectangular, square, and any other shape with the help of colorful paper. Attach your bulb inside of pendant hangings, it adds charm and brightness to your bedroom. You can put it on your wall or hang it on the ceiling.
Update the Color of Cabinets
One of the best ways to decorate the kitchen is to update the color of your cabinets. For this, you do not need to change the entire cabinet. You can simply paste colored sheets on already existing cabinets to give them a new refreshing look. It is a budget-friendly way to decorate the cooking area in 2022 and beyond.
Repaint Your Old Shelves
Yes, obviously, you can paint your old shelves with your favorite hue. You do not need to repurchase a new piece. It is an effective way of storing books and other personal items. It is also a great idea to display your picture frames, vases, candles, and small plants.
Let's Wrap it
Everyone wants to make their kitchen beautiful. But they do not think about this thing because they can not hurt their budget. But do not bring this thinking in your mind that you can never update your room. You are lucky! These tips make your kitchen feel refreshed in no time. The importance of decoration is to improve the look and feel of your space.
Its a cold and snowy day out there today. I am sitting in my warm little house all tucked up and cozy. My kittens are sitting in their basket in front of the window watching the world go by, and I am just feeling blessed, blessed, blessed.
When I think about where I was sitting in my life just a year ago, and where I am sitting now, there is just no other way to feel than blessed. I have a nice little home. I'm supporting myself. I just had a book published. I am loved and healthy and happy. What more could I ask for! Not a lot really!
There is something about losing everything and then having to fight your way back a normal life that really puts things into their true perspective. I will never take anything for granted ever again.
Not my home. Not my health. Not my relationships. Oh, I don't think I ever really did take all that I had for granted, but I don't think I treasured my life quite as much as I should have.
Its difficult to put it into words really.
But this morning I am feeling terribly blessed, and I had to drag out my Susan Branch mug to celebrate my blessedness. Of course if I am going to enjoy a hot drink, I might as well enjoy a a fresh baked muffin right along side of it.
These Coffee Cream Muffins are a real favorite muffin recipe. The original recipe comes from a cookbook by Diana Bonaparte, entitled Mad About Muffins. The original recipe makes a dozen muffins. I downsized it to make only six, because there is only me, and I only have so much willpower.
It is a book that I had in my collection in the UK for many, many years. I couldn't afford to replace the hard copy here and so I bought it on my kindle. I am not totally thrilled with the kindle edition, but one does what one has to do.
It was a book that I had referred to fairly often when baking muffins. And by that I mean real muffins, not cupcakes as a lot of muffins seem to be these days.
I like my muffins to be not too sweet. I don't want cupcakes disguised as muffins. I want a quick bread that is enjoyable with a hot cuppa. Not too big. Not too small.
These are just right. With a lovely coffee flavor and a beautiful texture. There is an added crunch of demerara sugar on top, which goes just perfectly.
I may not drink coffee, but I am not at all opposed to eating it. I love the flavor in baked goods and candies.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE COFFEE CREAM MUFFINS
I am betting you have it all in your kitchen right now.
- 1 cup plus 1 TBS (150g) plain all purpose flour
- 7 TBS sugar (85g) (I used granulated. In the UK use castor)
- 1/2 TBS baking powder
- 1 TBS instant coffee granules, pressed through a sieve
- pinch salt
- 3 TBS milk (I used whole milk)
- 3.25 fluid ounces (92ml) heavy cream
- 1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil (I used canola)
- 1 large free range egg
- demerara sugar to sprinkle (raw turbinado) (Maple sugar would also be nice)
I love LOVE my ceramic muffin pan. I bought it last winter when I was living at my sisters from The Bay here in Canada. It was on sale.
At that time I had determined to only invite things into my home that I fell in love with or that brought me joy. I fell in love with this muffin baker. And it has brought me joy. Oodles and oodles of joy.
HOW TO MAKE COFFEE CREAM MUFFINS
Making muffins is probably one of the easiest things to do. It is a matter of basically folding together dry and wet ingredients just to combine.
Preheat your oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a six cup muffin tin really well, or line with paper cups. I use a good baking spray.
Whisk the flour, coffee, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. (Press the coffee granules though a fine sieve with the back of a spoon.)
Whisk together the cream, milk, oil and egg, without thickening the cream. (In other words, don't whip it!)
Add the wet to the dry ingredients and mix together just to combine. Divide evenly between the muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops of each with a bit of demerara sugar.
Bake for 23 to 25 minutes, until well risen and the tops spring back when lightly touched. Tip out of the pan onto a wire rack to cool slightly before eating. Store any leftovers in an airtight container. (You can also freeze these.)
There are actually two ways of making muffins. The simplest method combines the liquid and the dry ingredients separately, and then quickly whisks them together before baking.
The second method uses the same technique as for making a butter cake, creaming the butter and sugar together and then adding the remaining ingredients.
This recipe uses the first method, but no matter which method you use, it is important not to overmix the batter once the liquid and the dry ingredients have been combined. Overmixing encourages the development of gluten and produces dense, tough muffins.
HINTS AND TIPS FOR PERFECT MUFFINS
1. Mix muffin batter lightly to avoid dense, tough results. Don't worry about small lumps in the batter. They will disappear during baking.
2. For faster cleanup use paper muffin cup liners set into ungreased pans.
3. Use an ice-cream scoop with a wire release to scoop batter into the pans. Your muffins will be uniform in size and have nicely shaped tops.
4. Always fill your muffin tins 2/3 full.
5. Not using all of the cups in your pan. Fill the empty ones with water before placing into the oven. This helps your muffins to bake more evenly.
6. To retain freshness, tore muffins in an airtight container. Alternately wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze. When thawing leave the plastic wrap on and bring muffins to room temperature.
There is nothing quite as enjoyable as a warm muffin in he morning or as a welcome afternoon break with a hot drink. These tasty tidbits, which, like quick breads, use baking powder, soda or eggs rather than yeast to give them their life and are among the quickest and easiest baked goods to make.
I really hope that you will be inspired to want to bake these delicious Coffee Cream Muffins. They are lovely and moist and delicious. One of my favorites to date!
Coffee Cream Muffins
Yield: 6
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 Min
Not too sweet, nice coffee flavor and a beautiful texture, with a bit of a crunch on top from demerara sugar.
Ingredients
- 1 cup plus 1 TBS (150g) plain all purpose flour
- 7 TBS sugar (85g)
- 1/2 TBS baking powder
- 1 TBS instant coffee granules, pressed through a sieve
- pinch salt
- 3 TBS milk
- 3.25 fluid ounces (92ml) heavy cream
- 1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil
- 1 large free range egg
- demerara sugar to sprinkle (raw turbinado)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a six cup muffin tin really well, or line with paper cups.
- Whisk the flour, coffee, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. (Press the coffee granules though a fine sieve with the back of a spoon.)
- Whisk together the cream, milk, oil and egg, without thickening the cream.
- Add the wet to the dry ingredients and mix together just to combine.
- Divide evenly between the muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops f each with a bit of demerara sugar.
- Bake for 23 to 25 minutes, until well risen and the tops spring back when lightly touched.
- Tip out of the pan onto a wire rack to cool slightly before eating. Store any leftovers in an airtight container. (You can also freeze these.)
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