Melissa Brown
Sep 11 2006 12:00AM
Friday marks the beginning of fall with the autumnal equinox, so this week’s recipe is a take on the classic banana nut bread, spiced up for the fall. It’s a moist, cake-like quick bread that’s great for breakfast, an afternoon snack or dessert. No matter when you serve it, this sweet and nutty treat is sure to please.
Here are a couple of tips for the novice or out-of-practice baker:
Mix the batter by hand instead of using a mixer; this will help prevent over-mixing the batter which makes the bread chewy.
When using raw eggs, crack the eggs one at a time in a separate bowl first before adding to the recipe.
Most all-purpose flours don’t require sifting, but don’t pack it into a measuring cup; use a spoon to gradually add the flour.
Combine dry ingredients such as flour, baking soda, and spices together before adding to a wet mixture.
If you don’t have a bundt cake pan just use a large loaf pan.
Banana Nut Spice Bread
3-4 over-ripe bananas (about 1 « cups)
1 Tb lemon juice
1 stick margarine, softened
1 « C sugar
2 eggs
« Tb vanilla
2 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
« tsp ground cardamom
« tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
« C pecans, chopped
In a small bowl, mash bananas and stir in lemon juice, then set aside. Blend margarine and sugar in a large bowl on low speed. Add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Add bananas into margarine mixture. Slowly pour dry ingredients into the mixing bowl and blend well. Pour into a greased bundt cake pan. Bake at 350ø for about 45 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Completely cool (about 3 hours) on a wire rack and store tightly covered.