I

I find this picture so funny because ‘nom nom nom’ is totally the noise we make when we eat…well, at least when I eat, and when my boyfriend imitates me eating. And who doesn’t love cake?!?! And if you don’t, get off my page!

So hooray, I made banana bread again. Boo hoo, I don’t have measuring scales. Hooray I bought a loaf tin and a springform cake tin! Boo hoo, I forgot I didn’t have measuring scales.

In one of our more technologically inspired moments, I asked my Mum to email the recipe for banana tea bread that I’ve been making since I was about 8 maybe. It took a couple of tries (whoops, failed to inform Mum of my new email address) but at last we had success. Recipe below!!

200g self raising flour
1.25ml bicarbonate of soda
2.5ml salt
75g butter
175g sugar
2 eggs beaten
450g bananas mashed
100g nuts, chopped

Grease and line an oblong loaf tin. Sift the flour, bicarb and salt. Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy and add the egg a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the bananas and beat again. Stir in the flour and the nuts. Put into the tin and bake in the oven at 180C for about 1.25 hours until well risen and just firm. Turn out and cool on a wire rack. Keep for 24 hours before serving sliced and buttered.

Ya see all the reference to GRAMS up there? yeh, doesn’t work so well when you don’t have a scale. So I kinda guestimated with cups and stuff, and the result wasn’t TOO far from how it usually turns out, but it wasn’t quite right. GA. I also have to give props to the cook book this particular recipe comes from: Good Housekeeping – the South African Way, published 1981, or possibly earlier – 1981 just happens to be the year my Mum purchased the book…when she was about to become a Mummy for the first time. Nawwww.

NOTE TO SELVES: Get scales before you make this recipe.I’m still always amazed at the fact that this is baked for 1hour + and it’s still lovely and not burned. And, amazement number two – this really does taste better 24 hours after it’s been baked. Yum. But greedy me can never wait, and I have to have some fresh out of the oven with lots of butter. Ahhhhh, my aorta!!Note the little laptop on the kitchen bench – reading my Mum’s email from the kitchen. From email to oven. Hm, could be catchy…

NOM NOM NOM WALNUTS…. Til our baking paths cross again.

xx Fif