There are very few bargains to be had in the city of London. Mercer recently ranked London as the second most expensive city in the world to live (up from #5 last year). Consider such facts like not using an Oyster* card to travel on London’s underground; to simply go from one Zone 1 stop to another Zone 1 stop (even if they are right next to each other) it would cost a whopping £4 ($8).
As a result, I’ve had to somewhat curb my life’s motto of “good food is the one thing I will always spend money on.” When a pint of strawberries is often £3.99 (8 bucks) and an “inexpensive” meal out is £15-£20 ($30-$40) it’s no surprise I sometimes have to do a double take on the tiny piece of camembert with black truffles from piedmont (£7.99 -$15) and put it back on the shelf (tear).
Which is why I was somewhat surprised by the cheap-o bananas I bought just outside my flat last Saturday night. A man had set up a makeshift stand outside of his 24 hour off-license*. It was about midnight and amongst other things, he was also selling 10 bananas for £1. Not 8 and not 12. You had to purchase exactly 10. Seeing as I don’t have a family of monkeys living with me (usually), I knew some of the bananas would go bad. Hey, it was a risk I was willing to take – plus they were cheap!
Today (6 days after the banana purchase) I came back to London after my last week in Warrington. I had 7 bananas still sitting on my counter. Not rotten like I had half expected but perfectly ripe for baking. I couldn’t waste them.
Caramelised Banana Bread
I’ve only once caramelised bananas before - and they were for a chocolate tart, so this was a bit of an experiment for me. The main difference I noticed was that the banana bread seemed moister than usual, which to me is always a good thing!
6 ripe bananas
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp butter, broken into little pieces
1 tsp cinnamon
1 and 2/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1 stick - 113 grams butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup sour cream
Pecans
Grease a loaf pan with butter and flour
Preheat oven to 180 Celsius or 356 Fahrenheit
Make the caramelised bananas:
Slice bananas about ¼ inch thick and place in oven safe dish
Mix with brown sugar, cinnamon and butter and cook in oven for about 20 minutes or until liquid forms around bananas and they are “puffy” looking
Set aside
Make the banana bread:
In a small bowl mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
In a larger bowl beat butter and sugars together
Add eggs and vanilla to butter/sugar mixure
Mix in the sour cream and flour mixture alternating in two parts each.
Fold in caramelised bananas
Pour into prepared loaf pan and sprinkle with pecans on top
Bake in the oven for about 35-45 minutes or until tester in middle comes out clean. Note: I didn’t think it was going to take this long and it may have been due to my oven. Keep an eye on the banana bread. If it starts to brown on top but isn’t quite done yet, simply place a piece of aluminium foil on top of it until it's cooked through
*Oyster Card - An electronic ticketing card for the London underground – supposedly it makes things easier for the people that run the underground. As a result, you get “discounted” fares if you use it. I read recently 80% of travellers have one. Considering the price without, I’m surprised it’s not even higher!
*Off-license – convenience store that sells booze
As a result, I’ve had to somewhat curb my life’s motto of “good food is the one thing I will always spend money on.” When a pint of strawberries is often £3.99 (8 bucks) and an “inexpensive” meal out is £15-£20 ($30-$40) it’s no surprise I sometimes have to do a double take on the tiny piece of camembert with black truffles from piedmont (£7.99 -$15) and put it back on the shelf (tear).
Which is why I was somewhat surprised by the cheap-o bananas I bought just outside my flat last Saturday night. A man had set up a makeshift stand outside of his 24 hour off-license*. It was about midnight and amongst other things, he was also selling 10 bananas for £1. Not 8 and not 12. You had to purchase exactly 10. Seeing as I don’t have a family of monkeys living with me (usually), I knew some of the bananas would go bad. Hey, it was a risk I was willing to take – plus they were cheap!
Today (6 days after the banana purchase) I came back to London after my last week in Warrington. I had 7 bananas still sitting on my counter. Not rotten like I had half expected but perfectly ripe for baking. I couldn’t waste them.
Caramelised Banana Bread
I’ve only once caramelised bananas before - and they were for a chocolate tart, so this was a bit of an experiment for me. The main difference I noticed was that the banana bread seemed moister than usual, which to me is always a good thing!
6 ripe bananas
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp butter, broken into little pieces
1 tsp cinnamon
1 and 2/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1 stick - 113 grams butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup sour cream
Pecans
Grease a loaf pan with butter and flour
Preheat oven to 180 Celsius or 356 Fahrenheit
Make the caramelised bananas:
Slice bananas about ¼ inch thick and place in oven safe dish
Mix with brown sugar, cinnamon and butter and cook in oven for about 20 minutes or until liquid forms around bananas and they are “puffy” looking
Set aside
Make the banana bread:
In a small bowl mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
In a larger bowl beat butter and sugars together
Add eggs and vanilla to butter/sugar mixure
Mix in the sour cream and flour mixture alternating in two parts each.
Fold in caramelised bananas
Pour into prepared loaf pan and sprinkle with pecans on top
Bake in the oven for about 35-45 minutes or until tester in middle comes out clean. Note: I didn’t think it was going to take this long and it may have been due to my oven. Keep an eye on the banana bread. If it starts to brown on top but isn’t quite done yet, simply place a piece of aluminium foil on top of it until it's cooked through
*Oyster Card - An electronic ticketing card for the London underground – supposedly it makes things easier for the people that run the underground. As a result, you get “discounted” fares if you use it. I read recently 80% of travellers have one. Considering the price without, I’m surprised it’s not even higher!
*Off-license – convenience store that sells booze
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