[Food] Coconut and banana cake.

I always end up with left over coconut milk when we make a curry and usually it ends up being thrown out as I never have a way of using it up. So this time I thought that I would use it, no more wasting good ingredients. I scoured the internet for a recipe but struggled. The only recipe I found that I could adapt was in Australian cups. Oh cups how confusing you are. I never realised that cups for different ingredients are different amounts. So I sat down and worked out the recipe and added more bananas because I had three to use up and banana cakes can always have more banana.

I had my assistant (four year old niece) to help and apparently she is the best banana masher in the world and I had to see her skills. I do have a confession to make this cake should have been a loaf (surprise surprise) but I had left my loaf tin at my mums. So sad. But this makes a delicious cake. 

This recipe will fit a 20in cake tin or a 2lb loaf tin. Either way make sure you have greased and lined the tin.

You will need:

225g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

200g brown sugar

85g coconut chips

270ml can Ayam coconut cream

2 eggs

3 bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons of coconut milk

enough icing sugar to make a thick icing

coconut chips to decorate

Preheat oven to 170°C/150°C fan.

Sift flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Add sugar and coconut. Stir to combine. 

Place coconut cream, eggs, banana and vanilla in a jug. Whisk to combine. Fold into flour mixture. 

Spoon into prepared pan. 

Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Stand in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Once the cake is cool. Add enough icing sugar and coconut milk to make a thick icing. Spread over the top of the cake and then sprinkle as much coconut chips on top as you like. 

Enjoy!

Oaty banana muffins recipe!

I finished work really early on Sunday and I had time to bake. I had some leftover bananas so I decided to turn them into muffins. I also had some oats kicking around in the cupboard so they went in as well.

Recipe adapted  from All Recipes

200g plain flour

80g porridge oats

100g caster sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

175ml milk

75ml olive oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

250g mashed bananas

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC/Gas Mark 6

Combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.

. In a large bowl, beat the egg lightly. Stir in the milk, oil and vanilla. Add the mashed banana and combine thoroughly. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases and divide the batter among them.

 Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.

Eat warm or for breakfast the next day!

♥

Smoothies!

If you feeling a little stuffy from all the macaron's you've been eating then I have a remedy. Smoothies.

I find getting fruit into my diet so much easier if I have smoothies, it's also a great way to use up fruit that's going a bit soft. I picked up a book from poundland and been making a few of the recipes. I have altered a few to my personal tastes.

Here a few of my favourites: 

Kiwifruit and Orange

1 large orange

1 kiwifruit

125ml of apple juice

Pear, Apple and Cranberry

1 large pear

1 large apple

125ml of cranberry juice

Banana and Strawberry

1 ripe banana

50g strawberries (I used a can of strawberries)

125ml of orange juice

To make these cut up your fruit, add your juice and blend until smooth in a blender. Serve in a glass with a straw, if your cool.

♥