Banana Walnut Cranberry Bread for Father's Day

Nutty bread with sweet-sour cranberries. Perfect for breakfast or tea.

CS is one for 'adult' type of desserts – breads and pastry. Nothing too chocolatey or sweet. Special combinations that are away from the usual chocolate or vanilla (unless it's done really well). He loves bread and well made pastry, so I decided on this Banana Walnut Cranberry Bread for him this Father's Day. I had most of the ingredients (and half a bag of dried cranberries left over from the Cranberry Bread Pudding), and my fruit vendor was happy to get rid of some very ripe bananas. (The locals like their bananas under-ripe, which to me, has a sour and sappy taste. To each his own).

The original recipe comes from My Kitchen Snippets, and looked absolutely divine. I substituted sour cream with buttermilk. (Sour cream is not a pantry item for me). The result was a very moist bread, which I assume is the result of this substitution. Next time, if using buttermilk, I shall use small eggs instead of regular sized eggs and see if that makes a difference. I also had to bake it for 1 hour 15 minutes instead of the 45 minutes suggested. Taste? Fabulous!

Banana Walnut Cranberry Bread

Butter ¾ cup

Light brown sugar ¾ cup

Eggs 3 small

Buttermilk ½ cup (½ cup milk plus ½ tsp vinegar)

Flour 2 cups

Baking powder 1 tsp

Baking soda ½ tsp

Vanilla 1 tsp

Salt ½ tsp

Mashed bananas 1 cup

Walnuts ¾ cup chopped

Dried cranberries ¾ cup

Preheat oven to 160C. Grease a loaf pan. Set aside. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time and beat till incorporated. Add buttermilk and mix well. Add bananas and vanilla. Slowly add in the flour and mix well. Fold in the nuts and cranberries and transfer the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes till a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Turn the bread out onto a rack to cool completely.

NB : using small eggs instead of large ones did yield a bread that was not as wet.

Cranberry Bread Pudding

Easy to make bread pudding

Dried cranberries were on sale. Imported foodstuff is very expensive here and so things that we took for granted at home becomes a luxury in these parts. I was coveting Craisins, but at RMB33 for a small bag, I could only admire from afar. But this past weekend, they were doing a 'buy one get one free' at Freshmart, and so I grabbed a pair. (We're in a recession – I do what I can) They could go down cheaper if the supermarket finds there are no takers, but I was willing to take the risk!

Dinner was a simple affair last night so I decided to make up for it with a baked dessert. I had not made one in a while. Looking into the pantry I found I had all the ingredients for bread pudding. Throw in a handful of cranberries and we've bumped it up a notch. This is a recipe I concocted a while back – another one of those “use up what's in the pantry” days. Measurements are approximate.

Bread 4-5 slices
Eggs 2, lightly beaten
Milk 1 ½ cups
Sugar 1/3 cup
Cinnamon 1 tsp
Dried cranberries a handful
Walnuts a small handful

Cut the bread slices into cubes or tear them up roughly. If you wish, you can also butter them, put them together sandwich style and cut them into cubes. Place in an ovenproof bowl. Add the dried cranberries and walnuts. In a separate bowl, mix the beaten eggs with milk, sugar and cinnamon. Pour over the bread slices. Allow the egg/milk to absorb into the bread for a few minutes. You can also toss lightly to evenly coat the bread slices. Bake in preheated 180C oven for 30-35 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream or evaporated milk.

You can substitute the cranberries with raisins and chopped apple. Instead of walnuts, you can also use almonds or pecans. I don't like my bread pudding too wet. This recipe yields a firm textured pudding.

Chocolate & Macadamia Nut Spread

I seem to be making a lot of spreads these days. I guess today I was just moved to make this mock Nutella, and as luck would have it - I had all the ingredients on hand. It's been on the 'want to try' list for a while, but just could not find hazelnuts. Even our favourite nut seller at the Nan Men market didn't have them. (Actually, I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of nuts at that market, opening up just endless baking options).

What I did have on hand was macadamia nuts. So I decided to substitute the hazelnuts with macadamias.

I was extremely happy with the end result - for a first try. The consistency and the sweetness was just right. However, the aroma of the macadamias did not come through as I imagine hazelnuts would have. It produced a handsome quantity - enough to fill a large jar. Definitely more ecomonical to make your own than buying. Well, at least in Suzhou.

Macadamia nuts 2/3 cup
Condensed milk 1 tin 370g
Chocolate chips 1 cup
Honey 4 tbsp

Process the macadamia nuts till pasty. (If you can get the nuts to liquefy, this will result in a smoother spread). Set aside. Put the condensed milk, chocolate chips and honey in a large bowl and sit it on a pot of simmering water. (Double boiler would work great). Stir occassionally till the chocolate melts. Pour the chocolate mixture into the hazelnuts and blitz till the mixture is smooth. Transfer into an airtight container, cool. Enjoy!

Homemade Peanut Butter

Rich, homemade PB

Would you like some bread to go with that?

Surfing the net, I've discovered that peanut butter is one of the easiest things to make at home. All dressed up at the supermarket, I had the impression that it was laborious. True, homemade peanut butter doesn't quite taste like the store bought ones, but in my opinion, it tastes even better. It's just all peanut, which makes it very rich. Imagine making Peanut Butter Cookies with this - heavenly! The cost? Just a fraction of what I pay at the supermarket, minus the additives and preservatives. China grows peanuts, and so it's pretty cheap and readily available here.

I came up with this recipe based on a few I'd seen in magazines, on the net, and read articles about. In the process of making, I improvised. I dare not say it's the best formulae yet, but not bad for a first try.

Raw peanuts 1 cup, roasted in a dry pan and skinned
Vegetable oil 1 -2 tbsp
Salt 1/2 tsp
Honey 2 tbsp

Blend the peanuts coarsely. Add 1 tbsp oil and continue blending. If mixture seems too dry, gradually add more oil. Add the salt and honey and blend till you get the consistency you desire. Store in an airtight container.