By Daniella De Windt
DIY Desserts
Fellow dessert lovers, unite! Calling everyone with a sweet tooth to this DIY edition of our island-wide hunt for St. Maarten’s best dessert!
Today makes day-12 of full lockdown, as we are all still stuck at home to keep everyone safe during this current state of emergency. During these uncertain times, Sugar and Spice can no longer review the island’s best desserts, but look on the sweet side! With nowhere to go and not much to do, you might have more time to try and create your own sweet treats.
We may live on a rock, but we sure do not live under one. Anyone who has used the extra time for social media scrolling might have noticed the prominence of banana bread on their feed. It seems as if this pandemic has brought about a renewed appreciation for both ovens and ripe bananas. Sugar and Spice is all for it! But you might be wondering why banana bread is making a COVID-19 comeback.
Well, think about it: Banana bread is a relatively easy, healthy, cheap and reliable treat to bake during these unprecedented times. If you have some ripe bananas, flour, nuts, chocolate and frozen/dried berries lying around, you can be fairly sure the end result will be a comforting treat that can be enjoyed at any time of day. And even though it might not be Pinterest-perfect, it will offer a sense of reward and reassurance amidst all the chaos.
Of course, the Out ‘n About is aware that the current measures may affect your access to certain ingredients. Please know that the ingredients are pantry staples in our house and were already purchased before the state of emergency was declared. It would be a waste not to have used them, but we understand you might not be able to recreate recipes at home. Either way, we hope to bring you some sweet distraction and maybe some DIY dessert inspiration.
However, if circumstances permit and you happen to have the ingredients or are willing to get a little creative with whatever you might have on hand, this banana treat is sure to brighten up your day. In my opinion, the best part of baking or cooking is taking a recipe as inspiration and experimenting with it.
Our family recipe requires a few of my favourite pantry staples such as bananas, flour and eggs. Other than that, you can add in whatever you like. You can use a loaf tin to make a more traditional banana bread, but I personally prefer muffins as they are quicker, fluffier and more conveniently portioned. Sometimes, we add chocolate chips; other times, I throw in some nuts and dried or frozen fruit. Last time, I decided to experiment with a cup of grated carrots, walnuts and raisins and – voila! – an easy banana bread carrot cake hybrid fit for any indecisive dessert-lover.
Banana Bread/Muffins
(Yields 1 loaf or 12 muffins)
Ingredients
- 2 cups of flour (I have tried with whole wheat, all-purpose and almond flour and we loved them all)
- 3 very ripe bananas (you can use thawed frozen bananas, just keep in mind that the mixture might be extra moist)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 1-2 tablespoons of oil or melted butter (start with one and add more if the mixture seems dry)
- 3 eggs (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 0.5-1 cup of milk (try any variety of dairy or non-dairy milk; start with half a cup and add more if mixture seems dry)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Optional
- Sweetener: sugar, maple syrup, honey, stevia, etc. (depends on your sweet tooth, but if my bananas are ripe enough, I usually do not add more sweetener)
• Chocolate chips - Berries (frozen)
- Nuts
- Carrots/Zucchini
- Nutmeg or all-spice
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Use melted butter, oil, or spray to grease your tin or line with parchment paper or cupcake liners.
- Mash bananas with a fork, blender or mixer. In a large bowl, add the eggs, vanilla, oil and milk to the mashed bananas and beat or whisk until combined. If you want to add any sweetener, now would be the right time.
- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour these dry ingredients into the bowl with wet ingredients and beat or mix until combined. The batter should be thick but pourable, so add some more oil and/or milk if it is too dry.
- If you are feeling creative, fold in any extras such as nuts or chocolate.
- Spoon the batter into the tin and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes for muffins and 40-55 minutes for a loaf. It is ready when you place a toothpick in the centre and it comes out clean.
- Allow your banana treat to cool, and pat yourself on the shoulder for trying to make the most of your time at home.
Stay safe and sweet out there!
