Banana Sponge Cakelette

I've been into sponge cakes recently. I thought of coming up with flavour variations. Found some ripened bananas lying and guess what I wanted to do with them? BAKE!!!

I'd go for the basic sponge cake method that uses melted butter. For those who are health conscious, vegetable oil can be substituted.
 

Banana Sponge Cakelette

What do we need:

1 cup plain flour
1 tbsp corn flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tbsp sponge cake emulsifier (optional)
2 bananas
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup butter, melted

How do we do it:

Butter and flour a few little cake moulds. 

Mash the bananas. Add baking soda to prevent discolouration. Set aside.

Combine the flours, baking powder, sugar, eggs and sponge cake emulsifier, if using. Whip till light and fluffy. Stir in the mashed banana. Mix until well combined. Finally, stir in the melted butter.

Spoon the batter into prepared little cake moulds. Bake at 180°C for 20-25 minutes of until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

When done, remove the cakelettes immediately from the moulds. Let cool on wire rack.

The cakelettes were incredibly aromatic. Texture wise, soft and fluffy. Mom, hubby and kids loved it!

Jihvā for Ingredients - Banana

Banana, the world's most popular and eaten tropical fruit is available at anytime of the year. It has been grown for over 1 million years; probably one of the first plants to be cultivated. Native to Malaysia, banana is also suspected to be the earth's first fruit.

Banana is actually the world’s largest plant without a woody stem. In other words, it is not a tree, rather a giant herb of the same family as lilies, orchids and palms. The stalks grow up to 25 feet high. The stem is made of tightly wrapped leaves and has a terminal crown of large, entire leaves and a hanging cluster or a bunch of fruits containing anywhere from 50 to 150 bananas. Individual fruits are tiered, also known as "hands", with up to 20 bananas or "fingers".

The banana fruit is elongated, pronouncedly 3-angled, curved, hornlike, oblong, cylindrical, blunt and/or crescent-shaped. Also referred as nature's fast food, it comes prepackaged in its own biodegradable protective jackets or outer layer that is commonly called as a peel or skin. Unripe skin turns from deep-green to yellow or red when ripened. The inner portion is ivory-white to yellow or salmon-yellow firm, astringent, creamy edible flesh. It has gummy latex when unripe and turns tender and slippery, or soft and mellow or rather dry and mealy or starchy when ripe. The banana has numerous strings known as phloem bundles which run between the skin and the flesh. They are usually removed individually after the skin is removed. The commonly cultivated bananas are generally seedless with just vestiges of ovules visible as brown specks in the slightly hollow or faintly pithy centre, especially when the fruit is overripe. Wild bananas may be nearly filled with black, hard, rounded or angled seeds and have scant flesh. Sometimes, a black dead flower remains at the end of the fruit.

Bananas

Banana is wonderfully sweet, mild, sub acid with a distinct apple tone. Even for local consumption, banana is harvested green as it is the only fruit that never develops its best flavour if left to ripen on the plant. After they are picked, the sugar content increases from 2% to 20% because as banana ripe, the starch in the fruit turns to sugar. Therefore, the riper the banana the sweeter it will taste.

Choose plump, evenly coloured yellow bananas flecked with tiny brown specks, which is a sign of ripeness. Avoid those with blemishes that usually indicate bruising. Once exposed to air, a peeled banana will begin to darken. To avoid discolouration, brush with lemon juice. To keep ripe bananas from getting softy and mushy, just refrigerate it. Though the peel will darken, the fruit remains unchanged.

A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minutes workout. Banana is a rich source of potassium, iron, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and dietary fiber. Being low in protein and fats, banana contains more digestible carbohydrates than any other fruit. This enables the body to burn off calories from carbohydrates more quickly and easily than calories from protein or fat. Banana is definitely a natural remedy for many ills. The inside of a banana skin could be rubbed onto mosquito bites. The juice extract prepared from the tender core of the banana stem is used to treat kidney stones.

In Southeast Asia and India, banana flowers and stems are eaten. The Caribbean and Southeast Asians use the leaves for wrapping and packing food. In Mexico, Central and South America, the leaves are used in cooking. The Indians serve their food on the banana leaves. In Eastern Africa, beer is brewed from bananas. Banana is such a versatile fruit that could be used in any form of cooking and baking. I am a great fan of banana. I just love the aroma of banana being cooked or baked. I have used it in beverages, baking and some Malaysian desserts. This time I have tried banana in pancake that I am submitting for this month's Jihvā for Ingredients event.

Banana Pancake

What do we need:

1 cup plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1 large banana, mashed
1 egg
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp grated coconut

1 tsp butter

How do we do it:

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt.

Mix the mashed banana, egg, coconut milk, sugar and the melted butter together. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Combine the banana mixture with the flour mixture. Gradually stir in the grated coconut. Cover and leave the batter to meld for about 30 minutes.

Lightly grease pan with a touch of butter. Drop a tablespoonful of batter. When the pancake is full of bubbles, flip over and cook for another 30 seconds.

Serve Banana Pancake warm with a drizzle of palm sugar syrup.





Also check out my other entries using banana as a main ingredient:

Energy boosters- Strawberry Smoothie and Banana Chocolate Milk

Baked goods- Banana Bread Pudding and my ever famous Banana Butter Cake

The Return...........

I have now returned home in Switzerland. It has been 2 weeks already but I still have not well settled. Life is no more the same. I am now a mother of 2, a preschooler and a baby.

Minding 2 children and nursing a baby definately needs extra energy. I concocted an energy booster to start up my tough day.

Banana Chocolate Milk

What do we need:

1 cup chocolate milk, chilled
1 large banana
1/2 cup corn flakes

How do we do it:

Blend the banana with the chocolate milk until smooth and frothy. Fill a tall glass with corn flakes. Pour the banana chocolate milk onto it. Top with chocolate sauce if desired.

Weekend Baking Session # 22

I go bananas with anything made of bananas. Containing three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber, a banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. Energy is not the only way a banana can help us keep fit.

It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet. Banana gets rid of depression, PMS, anemia, lowers blood pressure, constipation, hangover, heartburn, morning sickness, prevents mosquito bites, help calm the nervous system and many more.

Banana Butter Cake

What do we need:

1 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup mashed very ripe banana
1 egg

How do we do it:

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Stir in the mashed banana. Fold in the sifted flour mixture.

Pour batter into a greased and lined loaf pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 180° C for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

From Leftovers To A Breakfast

As I wanted to prepare a breakfast for today, I was looking around my pantry of what I can find. I had some leftover butter braid. Then, found that I had 2 very ripe bananas that would not wait for another day. Also found a bottle of buttermilk in my fridge that was nearing it's expiry date. I thought "Oh God! I can't afford to waste all these things. I'll have to use them up by today". I wondered how to put all the 3 ingredients together. Then, came up with this recipe.

Banana Bread Pudding



What do we need:

4 slices of bread
2 bananas
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp brown sugar
Chocolate chunks, as desired

How do we do it:

Cut the bread slices into 1 inch cubes.

Grease a baking dish or a casserole with a little butter. Arrange the bread cubes in it. Set aside.

Put the bananas, buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, and sugar into a blender and blend them until it becomes a smooth mixture.

Pour the mixture onto the bread cubes. Sprinkle some chocolate chunks on top.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180° C for about 20-30 minutes.



I love anything with bananas. While baking, the beautiful aroma of the bananas was lingering throughout my apartment. I decided to add the chocolate chunks as chocolates and bananas are marriage made in heaven. Did not want to use chocolate chips as they are too small and tend to melt faster. So, I just chopped a bar of chocolate, of course Swiss Chocolate, into big chunks and sprinkled them on top.

Banana bread pudding is best served warm or cold with chocolate sauce, if desired.

Smooth Smoothie

Bored with the same old eatable breakfasts. For a change whipped up a drinkable one. Bought strawberries the other day. I love the bright colour of strawberries. Very inviting and high in vitamin C.

Strawberry Smoothie


What do we need:

4 strawberries, hulled
1 large banana
1/2 cup plain yoghurt, cold
1/2 cup milk, cold
4 tbsp müesli
1 tbsp brown sugar (optional)

How do we do it:

Throw all the ingredients into a blender. Blend until it becomes smooth and creamy.

Serve immediately.


Tastes great, filling and it is indeed very healthy.