The art of food?

My daughter, who is 5 years old, knows what she likes (what 5 year old doesn’t?).  And when she sees art that speaks to her, she lets us know.  At 3, she was drawn to a piece by a talented young photographer in our church. A luscious composition of raspberries and chocolate cake on a vibrant blueish background. We bought it for her and it will eventually hang in her room alongside her latest acquisition.  Another blue background, this time a painting done by our Pastor’s wife, which I couldn’t resist playing with as a the backdrop for this photo…

What makes it special?

Mmm, banana bread. Often fluffy. Sometimes crumbly. Moist. Dry. Plain. Studded with nuts…  Some years ago I came across a recipe for a very different kind of rich. dense loaf, flavoured with nutmeg and allspice. It called for dark brown sugar and SIX EGGS! Seriously. Half a dozen eggs.

A favourite

I fell in love with this behemoth. I suppose one could call it ‘sturdy.’ It is moist and dense, and if you spread it with a little butter on both sides and pop it into a hot pan, it develops a wonderful crust that is like the best toast ever. It also plays well with a shmear of cream cheese or a slather of butter. It’s flavourful enough, though, to go down well with a nice cup of coffee.

Special Banana Bread

1 cup butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
6 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 pinch salt
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, nutmeg, allspice and salt. Blend the flour mixture into the butter and egg mixture a bit at a time, beating well after each addition.. Stir in the banana and vanilla; mixing just enough to evenly combine. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 90 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Watch that it doesn’t burn.  It’s meant to get quite dark, though.  Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Gives a whole new meaning to “sunny side up eggs” eh?