A health blog that I read recently described the excitement of finding browning bananas in the grocery shop. Perfect for making smoothies the author explained. I fully comprehend this excitement. This weekend I discovered 10 browning bananas that had been thrown in the quick sale pile for a bargain $1.50. A little ‘eeek’ escaped my lips. However not at the prospect of protein smoothies. I was dreaming of banana baked goods. I snatched them up and cradled them home. I put one aside to cook with and the others were prepared for me to use later.

I have found the best way to save bananas is to peel them, slice them and then freeze them. But I’m always open to improving my method! So if anyone has suggestions please let me know.

And what was to be the fate of the remaining banana? Banana Slice!
This recipe is a perfect example of many of the recipes in Nana’s books. The ingredients were not in order of use – very confusing for someone who doesn’t read ahead! There is also very little detail given. These days recipes tend to guide us through every minute step. The old recipes however, assume that you can cook. You need to trust yourself and  your instincts. Thankfully I did just this, well, mostly.

Ok, you will need: (don’t make my mistake – read ahead)
– 1 cup self raising flour
– 1/4 teaspoon bi-carb soda (cough cough, if you have any, cough cough – go out and buy some if you don’t!)
– 1/4 cup milk
– 1 beaten egg
– 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (definitely didn’t put this in – I’m 2 down already)
– 3/4 cup sugar (I initially forgot this, but realised when the batter had no sweetness. I also only added 1/2 cup which was a perfect amount!)
– 60g butter
– 1/3 cup of mashed banana
– 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and nutmeg

For the icing:
– The recipe asks for lemon icing. So I combined 3/4 cup soft icing sugar, 3/4 cup pure icing sugar (both sifted), 15g of softened butter and just under 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. This just covered the slice. So, if you like to lick the bowl, like your icing thick, or are not the sort of person to test how far your petrol will get you, you could make more icing.

Nothing left over to lick off the spoon!

Please do this:
– Sift dry ingredients together. This includes the spices and sugar. I failed to do this until the end. Learn from my mistake.
– Melt butter, add to dry ingredients with the banana, egg and milk.
– Spread into a greased lamington tin. Say what? A lamington tin? I looked at my 20x30cm lamington tin and decided it was too big. Best go with it’s smaller 16x26cm cousin. This was a good move.
– Bake in a moderate oven (180 degrees) for 25-30 minutes. Mine was ready in 20 minutes.
– When cool, top with lemon icing.

The verdict:
– I was a little disappointed when the slice came out because it hadn’t risen as much as I had hoped (most likely due to the omitted ingredients – get your act together Kate!). But it really didn’t matter. The slice was still great. Not too sweet, still nice and light, and worked perfectly with the lemon icing.

Judging from the empty cake stand, this slice is a real winner! If you try with all the ingredients let me know!

Love,

Kath and Kate xx