Banana Choc Muffins

Preparing a healthy easy snack for school lunches doesn't have to be too complex and sometimes a simple muffin can do the trick. Mash a few ripe bananas and add some chocolate mini buttons and you have a snack ready in bite!

.....That's what I'll be packing in the kid's lunch boxes for tomorrow!

Banana Choc Muffins

2 ripe bananas

1/4 cup chocolate mini buttons

60 g butter

2/3 cup sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 1/2 cup plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup milk

1. In a mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla essence and mix well. 

2. Mash the bananas and chocolate mini buttons and add to the butter mixture and combine well.

3. Sift the plain flour and baking powder and fold into the butter mixture. Alternate with the milk and stir until well combined.

4. Preheat the oven to 180C. 

5. Line a muffin tray with paper patty cups. Spoon the muffin mixture evenly into the muffing cups. Bake for 15 mins or until golden. Remove muffins from the muffin tray and cool on a wire rack.

Gone Bananas

Now what do you do when you have too many bananas in the kitchen?

        

        You make lots of Banana Bread! It's quick to make and you can pack loads of sweet bananas into a moist, hi-fibre, healthy, full of flavour bread. 

It's one of those comfort classics that everyone has a mum or aunt making it. For me, the all time best banana bread is the one my Mama (grandmother in Chinese) makes.....

                              it is THE BEST!!! 

A beautiful golden brown banana bread that's moist and delicious......ah but I can't give you her recipe (real family secret!!!) but you try mine.....

Banana Bread

80 g butter

1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

3 bananas, ripe, mashed

2 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cup plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

**optional 1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

**optional 1/2 cup sultanas

Preheat the oven to 180C.

1. Mash the bananas in a bowl.

2. Cream the butter and brown & caster sugars. Add the mashed bananas and vanilla essence and mix well. Add the eggs. You can add the walnuts and sultanas as well.

3. In a separate bowl sift the flour,baking powder and salt. Fold in the flour mixture, alternating with the milk and stir until combined.

4. Grease a loaf tin and line it with baking paper. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for about 40-45 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave the banana bread to rest for about 5 mins before you remove the tin. Cover the bread in cling wrap and you can eat it when it has cooled. My grandmother would always cover the bread so that it would always stay moist.

Whenever I make this I would slice the bread in thick slices because a thin slice is never enough. You can also serve this like a cake by icing the top with a simple honey cream cheese frosting.

Honey Cream Cheese

125 g cream cheese, soften

1/4 cup icing sugar, sifted

1 tbsp honey

1. Cream the cream cheese until soft. Add the icing sugar and honey and stir until its smooth. Spread the frosting on the top of the banana bread. I use the same frosting but doubled on my Carrot Cake.

Walnut, Pumpkin, Sultana Bread

There's something about freshly baked bread that just invites you to have a slice or two. Is it the aroma of that freshly baked bread that fills the whole house and takes your breath away?


It's like a trigger awaking the senses of taste and smells of comfort. Warm crusty bread, melted butter dipping, the first crunch into that crust and that soft chewy centre. 


I remember as a kid having to eat wholemeal, wholegrain and any type of brown bread because it was "good for you". It was a special treat to eat white bread without any of those nasty little wheat grains. My brother and I use to crave for the white stuff!!! 


My mum would always buy those strange looking breads, the knotted buns with poppy seeds/ toasted sesame seeds, the pull-apart breads, round breads, farmer's bread, crusty Italian breads, gourmet vegie infused breads and anything that had a seed in it....... sunflower/linseed/rolled oats/cracked corn/pumpkin/rye/barley...and anything that just didn't look like normal white bread. 


So when I was sent away to school and got to eat all that white bread. I started to really miss all those healthy breads, that simple nutty taste giving it tons of flavour. But most of all it was those memories of the breads mum use to give us as kids, and that is the comfort of home......Thanks mum for all those "it's good for you" breads. I just can't get enough of it now.

Walnut, Pumpkin, Sultana Bread


1/2 cup green pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup sultanas
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped roughly
1 batch of Japanese Bread

1. Make up the Japanese Bread  and follow the same method. Add in the green pumpkin seeds, sultanas and walnuts and knead until the dough is smooth. It might get sticky but just add some extra flour.
2. Let the dough rinse until at least double about 40 mins - hour. Punch the dough down and knead into 4 equal balls. Roll the balls into ovals and roll it up again. Place 2 rolls into each loaf tin and repeat. Leave it to proof again for 40 mins - hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 180 C and bake for 25 mins or until it is golden brown.


*** Hint. I find if you heat the oven for about 5 mins and turn it off, it's a great place to proof the dough. Just remember not to heat it too long and cover the bowl with a damp tea towel.

Lemon Butter

Zesty, Creamy Mmmmmmmmmmmm Lemon Butter

Today's cooking is dedicated to my sister, she absolutely loves lemon butter and it's up there with her other favourites; Mint Sauce.

I was suppose to make a big batch of this when I went over to see her but just never got around to making it so I'm making this for you, Kimmy.

Lemon Butter

80 g butter

2 lemons, grated and juiced

1/2 tsp finely grated lemon rind

2 egg yolks

1/2 cups sugar

2 tsp cornflour

1/4 cup water

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the lemon juice, rind and egg yolks and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar dissolves.

2. Mix the cornflour and water together and pour into the lemon mixture. Stir until the mixture thickens and is able to coat the back of the wooden spoon.

3. Pour the lemon butter into sterilised jars and allow to cool. Keep the lemon butter in the fridge. You can keep this for up to 2 -3 weeks and you can also use it as a lemon filling for lemon meringues, etc. I just love this on toast, it's just so simple that way.