BANANA AND CARAMEL MUFFINS

 

With some bananas going past their best in the fruit bowl I looked for something different from my usual cake recipes to make use of them.

I settled on a recipe in one of my favourite books, a W.I. publication called "cakes" by Liz Herbert where they are called "Banana Banoffee Muffins".

I would normally have used some Bonne Maman caramel but have recently had trouble getting hold of it.  The French supermarkets I usually frequent no longer seem to stock it.

I mostly use it for baking - for example see here.

Consequently I have bought other brands instead.

They are not quite the same!

The caramel did sink to the bottom of the muffins as warned in the recipe!

They were however, utterly delicious!  Dead easy to make, wickedly sweet and very bananary, they were a hit with all who tried them and I still have four in the freezer for a future treat.  Yum !!!

Ingredients

225g plain flour

1½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

150g golden caster sugar

2 medium ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

2 eggs, beaten

4 tblsp sour cream or crème fraîche

½ tsp vanilla extract

80g butter, melted and cooled

10 tsp caramel spread/jam or tinned caramel

Method

First, have the butter melted and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 190°C / 170° fan /gas mk 5.  Put 10 muffin cases into a muffin tin.  (My mixture actually made 11.)

Sift the flour, BP and bicarb into a large bowl.  Stir in the sugar.

Make a well in the centre and add the bananas, eggs, crème fraîche, butter and vanilla.  Fold or mix together until just combined.

Spoon the mixture equally into the muffin cases.  Make a depression in the top of each one with a spoon and drop a teaspoon of caramel into each one.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until firm and golden.  Remove from the tin to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 10 - 11 muffins.

STRAWBERRY UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

The minute I saw Dom's post about an upside down Victoria sponge (see here), I knew I had to bake one as soon as possible!  

In the end I used my usual all-in-one sponge cake recipe from Mary Berry and constructed the cake slightly differently but it looked stunning and tasted delicious!  I took it to a friend's house for a birthday dinner and it went down very well.

I was pleased with the cream filling.  Whipping up French cream to a suitable stiffness can be a challenge but combining it with cream cheese made a difference.  For once it all stayed in the cake and didn’t run out of the middle!

The second time I made the cake I used a slightly smaller tin and the ingredients for a three egg sponge (175g each of flour, fat and sugar).  I had half as many strawberries so they went into one sponge tin.  I filled the cake with a good layer of strawberry jam and about two thirds of the quantity of cream filling.  I took it to an afternoon tea where it was declared a hit and there was only one slice left.

The plate is one of a number of pretty plates that over the years I have snaffled from the "help yourself" table at the local déchetterie (tip/recycling centre).  I have a stack of free or charity shop plates that I can leave the with the host, which saves any scrambling to deal with leftovers in order to give the plate back.  It doesn't matter if I don't get them back!

Ingredients 

For the sponges

225g each of self raising flour

                      caster sugar

                      spreadable butter, baking spread or softened butter

1 level tsp baking powder

4 eggs

a splash of milk

400g strawberries, trimmed and quartered

1 tblsp granulated sugar

For the filling

150ml double cream

100g cream cheese

1 tblsp icing sugar

Method

First of all, put the strawberries into a bowl with the granulated sugar, stir to ensure all the fruit gets a good coating and set aside while you make the cake mixture.

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160° fan / gas mk 4.  Grease and line the base of two 20cm sandwich tins.

Put all the cake ingredients into a large bowl and beat with a hand held electric whisk (or a wooden spoon) until smooth and well combined, adding enough milk to loosen the mixture if it is very stiff.

Divide the strawberries between the two tins in an even layer and spoon the sponge mixture on the top.  Spread out carefully so as not to disturb the strawberries too much.  Level the tops and bake for about 25 minutes until done.

Leave in the tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.  Remember to remove the paper lining!  Be gentle as the sponges are quite delicate and may split.

To make the filling, put all the ingredients into a medium bowl and beat together until smooth.

When the sponges are completely cold, put one onto a serving plate or cake stand, strawberry side up.  Spread the cream filling over the top.

If you feel brave, flip the other sponge and place on top of the cream, strawberry side down as per Dom's recipe.  Otherwise, place it on top strawberry side up like mine.

Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Cuts into 10 slices

EGGS BENEDICT

There is a salon de thé called the "Pink and Cosy" in La Roche-Posay where they serve excellent salads, cakes and light meals.  We usually go for the eggs Benedict as the eggs are always perfect and the Hollandaise sauce delicious.  

English muffins are readily available in French supermarkets so I bought a pack and decided to have a go at making eggs Benedict myself.  I used a Jamie Oliver recipe here for the Hollandaise sauce.  (This was my first time at making my own as previously I have used a packet mix.)

It took two of us to make the whole dish.  Getting the muffins toasted in the toaster, the bacon cooked in the air fryer and the eggs poached at the same time as making the sauce seemed to be a two person job.  The sauce requires the full attention of one person and the rest is a juggling act that requires a bit more practice.  Either that or two pairs of hands and eyes in the back of your head!!   However, they were utterly delicious and well worth the effort.

You can poach the eggs in advance, plunging them into cold water when just done, then reheating in simmering water for a couple of minutes.  You can even do them the day before and keep them in the fridge overnight.  

Jamie Oliver says that the way to keep your Hollandaise sauce warm is to pour it into a vacuum flask, warming it first by rinsing out with boiling water.  Or you can try keeping it warm in your bowl over simmering water by stirring every so often until you need to serve it.

Ingredients for the sauce

150g unsalted butter

2 large egg yolks

1 dessertspoon white wine vinegar

a splash of lemon juice (I used Jif lemon)

Method

Put the butter into a small saucepan and melt over gentle heat.  Set aside.

Put the egg yolks into a heatproof bowl over a saucepan containing just simmering water.  Choose a bowl that sits firmly on the rim of the pan without rocking about and make sure that it doesn’t touch the surface of the water.  Break the egg yolks with a whisk and begin whisking.  Whisk in the vinegar.

Dribble the melted butter into the eggs and continue whisking until you have a thick, glossy sauce.  Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately or keep warm.

For the eggs Benedict 

2 English muffins 

4 eggs

4 rashers of bacon.

 Method 

Split the muffins and lightly toast both sides.

Grill or fry the bacon until as cooked or crisp as you like it.  (I did mine in the air fryer.)

Poach the eggs to your liking (see method here).

Place a split, toasted muffin on each plate.  Top each half with a rasher of bacon then a poached egg and spoon over the Hollandaise sauce.

Serves 2.