Peanut Butter Banana Sandwich

The only way I'll enjoy peanut butter is with sliced bananas in the center.
Just as easy as the Strawberry Nutella Sandwich, this is a quick fix.

You'll need:
- 2 slices of bread -- any kind (or 1 slice if you want an open faced sandwich)
- 1/2 a banana sliced
- 1 tbsp. of smooth or chunky peanut butter

Optional: drizzle of warm honey

Toast the bread, spread the peanut butter, and add the sliced bananas. If you choose to, drizzle the honey and close the sandwich.

Quick, easy and simple. I enjoy this with a glass of cold milk, it also helps get the sticky peanut butter out of your teeth.

To mix it up a little, add any other fruit you wish. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and apples go great with this sandwich too.

If you wanna make this healthier, instead of bread use tortilla wraps and warm the wraps over a pan on the stove.

Nutty Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

Nutty Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

Why throw away ripened bananas when you can make a delicious banana loaf?

You'll need:
- 3 or 4 ripened bananas, smashed
- 1 egg, beated
- 1/3 cup of butter, melted
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking soda
- pinch of cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 cups of flour

- 1/4 cup your choice of chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts work best)

- 1/4 cup of chocolate chips of your choice

Start by preheating your oven to 350 and lining your pan with parchment paper or with butter.

Now start by mixing together, with a wooden spoon, the smashed bananas, beated egg and melted butter. Then add in the sugar, vanilla extract, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix. Add the flour and mix, if there are some banana chunks that's fine you don't want the mixture to be entirely smooth. Add in the walnuts and chocolate chips, mix on last time and then pour into your lined pan.

Bake for about 45 minutes to an hour. When done, insert a toothpick, butter knife or whatever into the loaf and if it comes out clean, without batter, it's ready!

Let it sit for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan, and serving.

Enjoy!

Steps to ripened banana's

B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

I love them, best fruit for smoothies, quick snacks, and best in desserts. Usually when I bake I decide a day or two before, this doesn't work so well when I want to bake a banana loaf or something that needs ripened bananas.

So if you find yourself in my dilemma try these techniques:

1)  Give yourself a day or two before you actually bake the item that needs the ripened bananas. Take however many banana's you need put them in a plastic bag, and add a bruised apple. Close the bag shut and let it sit.

Banana's out of the oven

When you open the bag it won't look pretty, but it'll be nicely ripened!

2) Preheat your oven to 300, place your x amount of bananas on a baking sheet and bake for one hour. The peel will turn completely black, but the inside will be sweet. Keep in mind though that this will not work for green banana's, the banana's need be at least a little ripe already.

3) When you see that you have ripening banana's don't throw them away, place them in a freezer safe bag and freeze them. Whenever you're ready to use them take them out and defrost them, they'll be perfect!

All the best!

Hummingbird Cake

So I've always wanted to attempt a layered cake, and today I finally did! My first layered cake in the books is the Hummingbird cake.

For this cake you will need:

Image of the cake from my recipe book

1 cup Sunflower oil -- I used Canola
2 1/4 cups of All Purpose Flour
1 1/4 cups of Superfine Sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
3 beaten eggs
1 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts -- plus extra to make it pretty
3-4 ripened bananas (I'll post some quick ways to ripen banana's soon)
1 can (398 ml) crushed pineapple
4 tbsp of pineapple juice from the can

For the cake frosting you will need:
3/4 cup Cream cheese -- room temperature
1/4 cup Unsalted butter -- room temperature
1 tsp Vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups Confectioners' sugar

Start off by preheating the oven to 350. Then lightly grease three 9-inch cake pans with oil or butter, and then line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda in a bowl then add the eggs, oil, pecans, bananas, pineapple juice and pineapples. Stir this will a spoon until all the ingredients are nicely mixed together.

Split the batter up into the three pans, I put about 2 cups of batter into each pan. Before putting it into the oven be sure to spread the batter evenly, and shake the pan a little so it lays even.

My recipe said to bake for 25-30 minutes, I always go for the median. So bake for 27 minutes. Or until you see that the batter has a nice golden brown top and comes out clean when you insert a toothpick.

Once removed, let cool. In the mean time let's make some frosting!

Using an electric mixer, mix together the butter, cream cheese and vanilla extract. Sift in the confectioners' sugar slowly 1 cup at a time. Mix until smooth, no one wants lumpy frosting.

Finally let's layer this cake!!!!!!

One by one start by removing the parchment paper from the cooled cake, place it on a flat surface and spread the frosting on the top. Repeat the last step again with the next layer of cake and then place your third cake on top and be sure this time you spread the frosting beautifully; since everyone will be seeing this.

Sprinkle pecans on top and serve! Should serve about 12-15 people.

Below is my cake!

My Hummingbird Cake!