Banana Bread

I had been waiting for the bananas to ripen to give banana bread a try .Finally they ripened but unfortunately one of them went missing , probably in my hubby's tummy ,so I hid the two that was left because I don't have the patience to buy bananas and wait for it to ripen again . I made this bread with only two bananas and was scared that the bread won't be moist but in the end I got a nice ,sweet , moist and flavourful bread and the best thing is it is super easy to make , no beating or whisking , just mix it all up that is all the work you have to do . After all the waiting I did for the bananas to ripen the bread was gone within seconds . It was quite a hit with my kids especially my son who is a very picky eater , I actually sprinkled chocolate chips for his benefit (chocolate is his weakness), so here goes...........

INGREDIENTS

2 very ripe bananas

50 gms butter room temp
90 gms sweetened condensed milk

a pinch of salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
a handful of chocolate chips (optional)

METHOD

Mash the bananas with the butter in a bowl with a wooden spoon
Add the sweetened condensed milk ,egg, salt , vanilla and baking soda and mix them .
Finally add in the flour and mix it all up and transfer the contents into a greased and floured small loaf tin .
Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top if using any .
You can also put all the ingredients in a food processor and give it a blitz.
Bake in an 180 c oven for 1 hr .
Cool on a wire rack .

NOTE

Use only really ripe bananas , the ones where brown spots have appeared on the outside ,these ones are really sweet and soft .

Orange Rolls

This recipe is a nice alternative to the traditional cinammon roll. The subtle flavour of orange really balances out the rich , buttery dough . Be careful while making these because there is a tendency to gobble up the whole batch by yourself , it is simply irressistible with the rich , fluffy dough and the zesty orange filling that goes into it and especially the aroma of these rolls , so here goes ...........

INGREDIENTS

1 batch of  cinammon roll dough
Grated zest of 2 oranges
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup white sugar


METHOD

Mix the butter , sugar and the orange zest .
Roll out the dough into a rectangle .
Spread the orange butter onto the rolled out dough.
Roll up the dough along the long edge.
Cut the roll itno 1 inch slices and place it in a baking dish .
Leave it to rise for another hour .
Bake in a preheated 200 c oven for about 20 -25 min .

For the glaze

1/2 cup of icing sugar
2 tbsp orange juice

Mix the two ingredients into a paste and drizzle it over the rolls .

Cinnamon Rolls

 Warm , comforting, delicious , aromatic, I could go on and on and on about cinnamon rolls , they are like getting a big warm hug from someone you love .  The scent of  freshly baked cinnamon rolls will waft  through the house inviting you to just gobble it all up as soon as it is out of the oven , it is like you see in cartoons where the scent will literally draw you towards it  . In this recipe the rolls are made to rise in a warm gooey caramel and then it is baked and all the caramel will just bubble up and make you drool like anything , so here goes ...........

INGREDIENTS 

3 cups bread flour
1 cup warm water
1 tsp dried active yeast
1/4 cup caster sugar
75 gms butter( room temperature )
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar

For the caramel
1/2 cup vanilla icecream
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar

METHOD

Make a dough with water,egg,flour,caster sugar,butter,salt and yeast .
Melt the ingredients for the caramel and pour it into the bottom of the baking tin .
Roll the dough into a rectangle and spread the melted butter and sprinkle the cinnamon powder amd spread the brown sugar evenly everywhere.
Roll it up like you would a swiss roll cake and seal the ends .
Cut into 12 rolls and place them in the baking tin where the caramel has been poured .
Wait for the dough to rise double in size .
Bake at 175-200 degrees celsius for 20-25 min.

TIPS

You can make it with regular all purpose flour , it turns out great as well but with the bread flour it does make a difference in texture and tatse . You can add nuts as well .