This recipe of banana bread is moist, rich and delicious. This is pretty much what you get in cafes all around Australia. If you would like a lighter recipe of banana bread look HERE.
Serve on its own, with jam, butter or salted caramel. After the second day, toast and spread some butter on it.
You will need a loaf tin to bake it (Frenchies, the loaf tin is wider than the “moule a cake”).
Ingredients
250 g butter
200 g brown sugar
1 tsp of vanilla extract
4 eggs
3 to 4 ripe to super ripe bananas (400 g)
125 ml of buttermilk (or homemade substitute by adding 1 tsp of white vinegar to one cup of milk)
300 g of plain flour
2 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of sodium bicarbonate (bicarb soda)
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of mixed spice
If using unsalted butter, a pinch of salt
Method
Pre heat oven to 180 °C. Butter and line with baking paper a loaf tin
Mix butter and sugar until pale and creamy, add the eggs one at the time. Add the vanilla.
Mix in the mashed bananas, the cinnamon, mixed spice and butter milk.
Add all at once the flour, baking powder and bicarb soda. Mix from the centre out to avoid making lumps.
Pour the mix in the loaf tin and bake for just over an hour (up to 1.5 hour depending on your oven). If you oven is generally strong, reduce the heat to 160 after ½ hour in the baking. A baking needle inserted in the loaf must come out just moist, with no uncooked dough on it.
Let the banana bread cool in the tin for ½ h before turning on a rack.
Yum, yum ! And for bonus: this lunch box chocolate fondant slice is super mega easy and quick to cook. It is pretty much the case of mixing all ingredients together (no skills required there) and placing it in brownie tin or slice tin, bake it and this is it! In terms of effort value vs results, it rates pretty high!
That recipe is based on a can of condensed milk (replace sugar and need for butter).
If you are not going to use all of it within the coming days, best is to wrap in cell cling wrap and freeze. Place them in the kids lunch box, by the time they will eat them, they will be defrosted.
Now, on the butter: I tried without and with butter (70 g), both are quite satisfactory, the butter version is a little more rich and in term of taste a little more complex. The children did not make the difference between the two versions.
Makes 12 lunch box serves
Cooking time, with no added butter – 10 min (almost double if adding butter)
Ingredients:
1 can (about 400g) of sweet condensed milk
200 g of dark cooking chocolate
4 eggs
70 g of butter (only if you want to add a little more richness, otherwise omit)
50 g of flour
Method
Pre-heat oven to 180°C
Butter and line a brownie tin
Melt the chocolate (and butter if adding)
Add the eggs one by one and the condensed milk. Then add the flour.
Pour in the prepared tin. Make sure not to trap air bubbles as the batter is quite thick especially if not using the butter (to make sure, tap your filled tin on the bench a couple of time, this will make any bubble break)
Bake until cooked, the slice must be firm when touching (not wobbly), the edges will show a few crackling marks.
Cool down for a few minutes before cutting in portions.
This chocolate version of the galette des rois works a wonder. Kids and adults love it and it is so easy to make. Seriously! (as my 7 y. o says all the time).
The principle is the same than the traditional creme frangipane one: 2 layers of puff pastry with an almond base cream filling (creme frangipane) in the midle and a little “feve” (a piece of ceramic about 1 cm long) hidden in the filling.
I know, it looks I bought it at the bakery! No, I needed somewhere to store it safely and had some spare boxes.
Serves 8
Ingredients:
400 g of puff pastry (better if butter puff pastry, in Australia, Careme provides a ready-made one and can be found in deli shops, if you want a recipe, here is my puff pastry recipe, I make it all the time now!
100 g of caster sugar
150 g of good quality dark cooking chocolate
1 egg
100 g of almond meal
25 g of butter, melted
2 tablespoon of milk
1 egg yolk
1 feve (if you don’t have any, use a large ceramic button or a shell)
Method:
For the filling: melt the chocolate with 2 tablespoon of milk. Once melted, add the egg, sugar, almond meal and melted butter. Mix well.
Preheat the oven to 170ºC
In a small bowl, mix the egg yolk with 2 tablespoon of milk or water to make an eggwash, you will use it to assemble the galette and brush it before baking.
Divide the pastry in the pieces and using a rolling pin and a little flour, prepare two disks of 25 cm diameter.
Cover a baking sheet with baking paper and place the first disk on it. Pour the filling and spread evenly leaving a 1.5 cm border all around. Place the feve in the garnish but not right in the middle (or you will for sure cut right through it when serving)
Using a small sharp knife, score the exposed pastry and brush with eggwash. Place the second disk over the top. With your thumb press the two disks edges together regularly moving your thumb around the edges. Use the sharp knife to score the top with lines making diamond shape or square shape patterns. Brush generously with eggwash and bake until golden brown for about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool down. It can be eaten slightly wam or at room temperature. Do not place in the fridge!
And by the way the one with the feve in its piece is the king/queen and has to choose a queen/king!
The gateau au chocolat de Suzy takes its name from the woman who created this chocolate cake, called “Suzanne”. The recipe was published in the “Larousse du Chocolat” from Pierre Herme.
This recipe is pretty easy. There is not need to know how to separate and fold eggwhites, really simple! The cake is delicious and quite chocolaty but not so much that children cannot have it.
Difficulty: Easy
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking: 30 min
Serves 8
Ingredients:
250 g of dark cooking chocolate at 60-64 % (or a combination of 70% and 50% or just go for 70%)
250 g of salted butter + a little bit to prepare the mould
4 eggs
220 g of caster sugar
70 g of plain flour + a little more for the mould
Note: The ingredients include butter and flour to prepare the mould, which works really well with this cake. If you prefer lining your mould with baking paper (sometimes much safer), you will not need the extra flour. If you are using a silicone mould, there is no need to butter and flour your tin or to line it.
Tip: you must use a good chocolate, in Australia you can find the Nestle Plaistowe in about all supermarkets (they have 50 % and 70%).
Method:
Preheat the oven on 180°C
Break the chocolate in pieces and melt with the butter over a bain marie or other method of your choice. You can microwave full power on 1 minute and then per 30 seconds if not sufficient.
In a bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Make sure you give a good whisking, you can even get out your kitchenAid or similar here.Tip: if using a whisk, use a large one, it will be much easier and quicker to get a fluffy pale creamy mix.
Add the melted chocolate-butter mix. Mix in the flour.
Butter and flour a 22 cm round tin (or similar size). Alternatively, you can choose to line the tin with baking paper on the base and butter&flour the sides.
Pour the batter in the tin and bake for about 30 min (this will change slightly depending on the oven and the diameter of your tin). The cake is cooked when a skewer inserted through the center comes out dry (there may be bit of chocolate on it, the cake is cooked as long as it is not liquid) or when there is no more wobble when you place your hand over the center of the cake and gently move the top.
Cool down on a grid: slide it if you are using a pull apart tin or turn it over twice gently so the bottom part is on the grid. If you are using a silicone mould, leave it to cool in it.
This one is a winner. Definitely. It was gone in such a short time from the kitchen bench, it did not even have time to move from it!
I tried some beetroot chocolate cake recipe a while ago, but was not completely won over. This time it is different. The recipe is inspired from BBC Good Food. I added cocoa nibs and pieces of chocolate.
Ingredients:
This makes quite a large brownie. For a 18×18 cm square tin divide by two.
500 g beetroot steemed (3-4 medium beets)
100 g unsalted butter, plus extra for the tin
200 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
1 tsp vanilla extract
250 g caster sugar
3 eggs
100 g plain flour
30 g dutch cocoa powder
100 g cocoa nibs
150 g dark cooking chocolate cut in chuncks (0.5 mm max)
Method:
Peel the beetroot, steam the beetroot. Place in the food processor to reduce to a mash.
Heat oven to 180°C.
While the beetroot cooks, butter then line the baking tin. Melt the butter and chocolate together. Add to the beetroot and blend until super smooth. Add the cocoa.
Put the sugar and eggs into a large bowl or food processor, then beat until thick, pale and foamy, about 2 mins. Add in the chocolate-beetroot mix. Add the flour and gently fold in using a large spatula.
Pour into the prepared tin, place on top the cocoa nibs and cut chocolate chips and using a fork insert it into the mix. You can alternatively add them at the same time as the flour, it should work, I have not yet tried that way.
Bake for 25 mins or until it starts to crack (but not too much) on top and is just set in the middle.
Cool completely in the tin, then cut into squares and dust with cocoa powder.
These strawberry and rosemary madeleines go really well with some fruit desserts which ask for a little cake or biscuit on the side.
I love madeleines, they are cute, crusty, light. They go with so many things and can be made rapidly (very rapidly) and for many reasons. As a child, it is one of the first cake recipes we made again and again, the other two ones being the yoghurt cake and the “reine de Saba” (or Sheba’s Cake), a light chocolate cake.
Strawberry and rosemary madeleines
The recipe is pretty close to the recipe for the plain madeleines, with the addition of the strawberries and rosemary.
Ingredients
These proportions made about 40 strawberry and rosemary madeleines.
120 g butter
2 tbs rosemarry (very finely chopped)
1.5 cups of strawberry
250 g of plain flour
150 g white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
Method
Melt the butter in a small saucepan on low heat with the chopped rosemary. Before it turns colour, emove from heat and let infuse and cooling.
Use a food processor to mix the eggs and sugar together until fluffy (alternatively use a whisk).
Remove the leaves of the strawberry and puree in a blender. Mix with the egg and sugar.
Add the flour and baking powder
Add the butter (keep the rosemarry) slowly
Put a tablespoon of the mix in each madeleine print and bake for 10-15 minutes on oven 17o°C
Cool on a rack, make sure they do not touch when cooling.
Madeleines are very versatile biscuits. They taste great and look good. The madeleine recipe is also super easy!
Madeleines can be served on their own for the afternoon snack, or with coffee or tea. They can also be used for picnic and parties , they do not require cutting and always present well.
You will need a special madeleine print mould, use a metal one or silicone one, both work well. A number of online stores sell them. It is better to have two of those, as it will ensure a prompter cooking time.
Makes 24
Preparation – 15 minutes
Cooking – 15-18 minutes per batch
Ingredients:
125 g of butter
2 large eggs
150 g of caster sugar
1 pinch of salt (omit if using salted butter)
150 g plain flour
The zest of one lemon (non treated)
Method:
Warm up the oven to 160-170°C
If using metal madeleine prints, butter the bottom of each print.
Melt the butter and set aside
Mix together the eggs and sugar until creamy and light (use a whisk).
Add in the butter, salt and lemon zest. Mix well.
Add the flour. Mix well.
Using a spoon, fill each print of the mould halfway.
Place in the oven until cooked for 15-18 minutes. The cooking time will vary between ovens.
Turn over on a cooling rack, making sure the madeleines are not on top of each other and allow to cool before storing away.
This version of the french traditional yoghurt cake contains double the amount of yoghurt. It is a great cake, even better when served with poached fruits and the poaching liquid reduced to a syrup.
This recipe is from Delicious, Simply the Best by Valli Little. In the book, the cake is served with sangria poached fruits, I served mine last time with white wine poached pears.
Ingredients:
1 cup (280 g) of Greek Yoghurt
1 cup (220 g) of raw caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup (80 ml) of sunflower oil (sunflower oil will not alter the flavour of the cake, olive oil will change the taste)
2 eggs
1 2/3 cup (250 g) of plain flour
1 tsp of baking soda
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
finely grated zest of 1 orange
Method:
Preheat the oven to 170 °C and grease a 20 cm spring form cake pan and line with baking paper.
Combine the yoghurt and sugar in a large bowl and whisk to combine before adding the eggs. Beat well between each addition.
Add at once the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Use a whisk is you have some lumps, they will disappear straight away. Finally add the zest and mix to combine.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 45 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. If the cake is getting brown too quickly cover loosely with aluminium foil.
Yoghurt cake (gateau au yahourt) is a french classic. Each kid would have made it quite a few times. One of my brother use to make it for quite a while every Wednesday (we didn’t have school Wednesdays) for afternoon tea (he was about 8 and unhelped after a couple weeks). The cake weight reference or rather volume reference is the little pot of yogurt. Since here, yogurt is found in larger quantities, I use a measuring cup as a reference or a glass.
This recipe is the “original version” as you will encounter most of the time. I love the crusty edges of the cake and the unctuous interior. It is very good as well dipped in tea or milk.
You can reduce by 1/3 the sugar if you find it to sweet as this is quite a sweet cake. You may found this cake a bit floury, sometimes it annoys me, this is why I alter with another recipe (CLICK HERE).
One very important thing, respect the quantity of baking powder (1 level teaspoon, which is less than the amount suggested on the baking powder box per cup of flour), or your cake will have a great ride (it has happened to me)!
In the photo here, I used the mix as a base to cup cakes. Two 7 y.o. did the recipe and obviously decorating under light supervision. I have used this recipe for birthday cake (reducing the sugar) with pink food colourant added.
A yoghurt cake is normally cooked in a round cake tin 20-25 cm diameter.
Ingredients:
1 yoghurt pot (about 125 g natural yogurt, unsweetened) – the container is then used to measure the other ingredients
3 pots of white sugar (about 300 g)
3 eggs
3/4 pot of oil (I use a light taste oil such as sunflower)
1 pot of cornflour
2 pots of plain flour
1 level teaspoon of raising powder (or one sachet if it comes under that format)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 170°C . Butter and flour you tin well, alternatively line it with baking paper.
Empty the yoghurt in a large bowl. Rinse and dry the container. You will use it to measure the other ingredients.
Add the sugar. Mix
Add the eggs one at the time mixing well between each addition.
Add the oil and mix.
Add all at once the cornflour, four and baking powder. Mix from the centre including in your circle the dry ingredients as you go. If there are lumps, use a large whisk and mix energetically.
Transfer the mix to the tin and place in the oven.
It takes about 40 minutes to cook (until a skewer come out dry) and may have a little hump and a crack in the middle. If it becomes too dark early either reduce the oven or cover with aluminium foil.
This banana and chocolate chip cake is ultra easy. It is one of my recipes made in a place where I had no recipe book or access to recipes and not enough flour. I have used some oat flakes, it makes the banana cake much lighter. For the chocolate chip, I recommend using a good cooking chocolate and cutting it roughly with a large knife.
This recipe is appreciated by all, kids love it, adults too! You can choose to omit the chocolate or swap for dry cranberries for example.
Ingredients
2 large ripe bananas
3 eggs
100 g butter
180 g plain flour
3 generous tablespoon of instant oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
75 g cooking chocolate cut in pieces
100 g white sugar
Method:
Preheat the oven at 180°C.
Butter and flour a log cake tin
Mix together the sugar, eggs and melted butter
Puree the bananas and add them to the mix
Add in one go, the oats, flour, baking powder and chocolate and mix.
Pour into the tin. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out slightly moist (not wet!). If your oven is strong reduce to 160 degrees to avoid burning the top of the cake.
Remove from the oven and turn over a cooling rack to cool down.
The question is: have you had any palets Bretons before?
If you are French or have lived in France, the answer would be yes. For others, you probably have not eaten any Palets Bretons.
I could not resist this recipe. I am not being patriotic just now (no! 🙂 ), this is just that I LOVE those little biscuits and you can’t find them in Australia.
So easy… yes, really!
They are very easy to make. The only limitation is that they cannot be placed to cook on a flat sheet as they need support. Turned out that I had a silicone mould for mini-muffin (which I never use normally) just perfect for it!
You can keep them in a cookie box for a couple weeks easily (please not in the fridge, just in an airtight container or cookie box). They are perfect with a cup of tea, with desserts like yogurt or fruit compotes and can even be used for lunch boxes snack.
There are only few ingredients, same as in most cookies: flour, butter (of course, we are speaking Brittany), eggs, sugar and baking powder.
Now I am sure you feel like making them!
Read on for the recipe…
Ingredients:
Makes the quantity you can see on the above photo.
140 g caster sugar
3 egg yolks
150 g soft butter (either use unsalted butter and add 4 g of salt) or use salted butter
200 g plain white flour
15 g baking powder
Method:
In a first time, you need to make the dough:
Mix egg yolks and sugar until white and creamy (use a whisk)
Add the soft butter and combine (swap the whisk for a wooden spoon or similar)
Add the flour and baking powder
Bring the mixture into a ball. Wrap in cell film and place in the fridge for a few hours or even better overnight.
The second part is the cutting and cooking:
Preheat the oven to 170 °C.
If you are using metal muffin trays or pastry rings, grease them with butter and place the pastry rings on a sheet of baking paper on the cooking tray. If you are using a silicone mould, no need to grease.
My improvised cutter and moulds for the Palets Bretons
Lightly dust with flour your kitchen bench and roll the dough to 5 mm thick.
Cut out round shapes for your palets bretons using either one of the pastry ring or if using a muffin tray or similar something in your kitchen of same diameter as your moulds (for example: a small glass, an egg cup, a towel ring).
Place in the cooking moulds.
Cook for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Turn over or slide on a cooling rack.
The Palets Bretons are a specialty from Brittany in Western France. I discovered how simple they are to make. The only constraint is having a mould (silicone or not) with little cavities between 3 to 5 cm wide. You can have the children helping to cut out the biscuits and place them in the mould.
Ingredients:
Makes the quantity you can see on the above photo.
140 g caster sugar
3 egg yolks
150 g soft butter (either use unsalted butter and add 4 g of salt) or use salted butter
200 g plain white flour
15 g baking powder
Method:
In a first time, you need to make the dough:
Mix egg yolks and sugar until white and creamy (use a whisk)
Add the soft butter and combine (swap the whisk for a wooden spoon or similar)
Add the flour and baking powder
Bring the mixture into a ball. Wrap in cell film and place in the fridge for a few hours or even better overnight.
The second part is the cutting and cooking:
Preheat the oven to 170 °C.
If you are using metal muffin trays or pastry rings, grease them with butter and place the pastry rings on a sheet of baking paper on the cooking tray. If you are using a silicone mould, no need to grease.
My improvised cutter and moulds for the Palets Bretons
Lightly dust with flour your kitchen bench and roll the dough to 5 mm thick.
Cut out round shapes for your palets bretons using either one of the pastry ring or if using a muffin tray or similar something in your kitchen of same diameter as your moulds (for example: a small glass, an egg cup, a towel ring).
Place in the cooking moulds.
Cook for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Turn over or slide on a cooling rack.
You can keep your palets Bretons in a cookie box for a couple weeks. Use them to go with desserts such as apple compote or apple puree, a yogurt mix or even chocolate mousse. Have them with a cup of tea. Palets Bretons are also great for lunch box snacks.
Ingredients:
