Banana, Date, and Walnut Bread

We are in the process of preparing our 39 square metre abode for a fifth occupant (yes, you read that correctly) and yesterday, faced with the rather tedious prospect of another afternoon spent reorganizing our living room, I did the sensible, adult thing: I ignored the housework, and baked banana bread instead.

In my defense, two black bananas, squished into the side of our kitchen's produce basket, have been crying out for use since last week. They are the remnants of fried banana French toast, and although I intended to do something virtuous with them - say, slice them and eat them over oatmeal - the days inevitably passed, and the bananas, untouched, grew menacingly darker, until eventually I started averting my eyes when entering the kitchen.

Yesterday, however, spurred by near-desperate procrastination, I finally put those mushy fruits to the best use possible: banana bread. Donna Hay's recipe helpfully includes few other pantry items you may need to use up  - in my case, a bag of dates  -  and her addition of a maple frosting eradicated any conflicting notions I may have had regarding my afternoon's time management.

I made a few slight adjustments to the original recipe - namely, the addition of toasted walnuts, and the omission of an extra ¾ cup of flour. I will admit the flour was an accident (pregnancy brainlessness) and that I initially panicked when I realized my mistake. The resulting loaf, however, is perfectly moist and dense (the extra flour would produce a more "cakey" bread, I imagine) and when making this again, I'll stick with the reduced amount. Due to the bread's satisfying stodginess, however, I changed the cream cheese frosting to a lighter glaze. You could also forgo a topping altogether.

BANANA AND DATE BREAD WITH MAPLE GLAZE
(slightly adapted from Donna Hay's recipe)

125g butter, softened
1 cup (175g) brown sugar

2 eggs
2 cups mashed banana
1 cup (140g) chopped dates
1 cup walnuts, chopped & toasted
1 cup (150g) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
1½ teaspoon baking powder, sifted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ tsp salt
⅓ cup (80ml) maple syrup

maple glaze:
250g mascarpone cheese, softened
½ cup (125ml) maple syrup
¼ tsp salt

1. Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition.
2. Add the banana, dates, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
3. Add the maple syrup - stir well to combine and pour the mixture into a lightly greased & lined loaf tin.
4. Bake at 160 (325) degrees for about an hour and 10 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
5. Leave to cool.

In the meantime, mix the marscapone, maple syrup, and salt together with an electric mixture. When cake has cooled, remove from tin and pour the glaze over top.

Fried Banana French Toast

Our industrious neighbors usually start pottering around their kitchen at 6:30 in the morning. At nearly eight months pregnant, I spend most nights tossing my unevenly-shaped body around the bed, and the sight of my habitually shirtless neighbor preparing his coffee signals to me that I can begin to do the same. (Paris' close quarters turn even the most uninquisitive into curtain-twitchers.)

I am enjoying this newfound status of "early riser" - a rather unexpected bonus of my otherwise maddening sleep deprivation. I have also enthusiastically adopted the notion of family breakfast. The four of us sitting together à table for a morning meal greatly appeals to me - the two boys are currently reveling in the freedom of (another) French school holiday, and my heavy belly cries out for carbohydrates. Husband is not as easily roused from the sheets but can be summoned with the promise of coffee and butter-laden breakfast offerings.

This morning, I lurched into the kitchen and eyed the ingredients available to me: slightly browning bananas, a packet of organic supermarket brioche, and 2 half-full bottles of Vermont maple syrup, amongst other things. Despite my threats of date porridge (another day, children, another day,) I decided to embrace indulgence and rustle up some fried banana French toast.

There is a tendency to always think of The King when conjuring up fried bananas (bacon - always optional, often encouraged) - I, however, am usually transported back to my days as the pastry chef in a popular little Dublin eatery. We served a version of this dish, invented by the South African chef, and it sold out every day we offered it. It is no different at my morning breakfast table, although I wager the wait staff in Dublin had less maple syrup to mop up in its aftermath. 

This recipe lends itself well to fruit substitutions and additions - I often like to sprinkle pomegranate seeds over the top before serving. The tart seeds offer a cleansing pop through the richness of banana, egg, and butter - and the end result is visually rather lovely.

BRIOCHE FRENCH TOAST RECIPE
(serves 4)

4 eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar

8 slices of slightly stale brioche
Butter
4 bananas, sliced lengthwise

1. Whisk together the eggs, milk, cinnamon, salt, and sugar in a shallow casserole dish.
2. Melt a bit of butter in a frying pan and fry both sides of banana. Set aside.
2. Dip the bread slices in the egg mixture, lightly coating both sides. (Don't let the bread soak up too much of the mixture or your french toast will be soggy.)
3. Fry the bread, turning when each side is golden brown.
4. Top with fried banana, maple syrup, and pomegranate seeds.