Vanilla & Masala

There were 3 overripe frozen bananas screaming to be used up for the daring bakers challenge for the month and the deadline was nearing.  Finally the day of posting arrived and yes I was able to finish  the challenge at the last-minute.  Phew ! Quick breads was the Daring Bakers challenge for the month  and I chose to challenge myself with Banana Bread. It is really a quick bread and at the snail’s pace that’s my working style, even I was able to make it in a jiffy. I wanted to make a banana nut bread as I had pecans stashed away in my fridge for a long time. Its only when I opened the packet did I realize I had to immediately toss it into the garbage can. I had already jotted down a great recipe for banana bread from www.joyofbaking.com. This recipe is now definitely my go to recipe for a quick tea time snack.

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt ( I skipped this because I used salted butter)

1/2 cup butter melted and cooled

2 large eggs

3 overripe bananas, peeled and mashed about 1 cup

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180° C. In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients : all-purpose flour, baking powder , baking soda , salt, sugar and cinnamon. In another bowl whisk the eggs. Add to this melted butter,  mashed bananas and vanilla extract and mix it well with a whisk. Now fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula. Take care not to over mix the batter. Now pour the batter into a buttered 9×5 inches loaf pan dusted with flour. Bake it in the preheated oven for 55 – 60 mins till golden brown or till a toothpick inserted in it comes out clean.

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.

A big thank you to Lisa for giving us the opportunity to make the most out of a quick recipe which delivers maximally on taste.