let's just call it banana cake

I would only be slightly exaggerating if I said that Tom made this banana bread at least once a week.
We always seem to have a pile of brown bananas in the fruit bowl that need using and this recipe is the perfect way to get rid of them. (And I have to admit that having a loaf of banana bread on hand is pretty handy for when people drop in for a cup of tea.)

The first time Tom made this banana bread he said "It's not really banana bread is it? It's more like banana cake" and seemed slightly disappointed at the amount of sugar and butter that went into it (I think he was hoping to convince himself that it was a healthy afternoon tea option) but this recipe is a winner and much better for you than any banana bread you buy at the supermarket.

This recipe is from 'Apples for jam' by Tessa Kiros (one of our favourite cookbooks).

125g butter
180g dark brown sugar
350g (about 4 medium) very ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
250g (2 cups) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp warm milk

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
Butter a 30 x 11cm loaf tin.

Cream the butter and sugar till smooth and whisk in the mashed bananas.
Add the eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and a pinch of salt and whisk in well.

Sieve in the flour and baking powder and beat until smooth.
Mix the baking soda into the milk and stir into the batter.

Scrape the mixture into the tin and bake for about 50 minutes until the bread is crusty on top and a skewer poked in the middle comes out clean.

Turn out onto a rack to cool.
Enjoy with a cup of tea!

Also.. Banana bread freezes really well! Cut it into slices and freeze in a zip-lock bag. When someone pops in unexpectedly for tea just toast it for a minute (until defrosted and warm) and serve! Yum!

A baby sprinkle..

I had a little party on the weekend to celebrate the fact that I had made it to 34 weeks and that I survived months of bed rest. I also just wanted an excuse to catch up with all my girlfriends, many whom I had not seen since I fell pregnant.

Tom spent the entire morning cleaning the house and baking. He made his signature flour-less chocolate cake, my favourite mandarin, lime and yoghurt cake and a few other yummy treats.
Tom's mum made an orange and almond cake (she makes one for us almost every time we head up to the farm.. she picks the oranges off the tree in the morning and boils them for hours before using them to make the cake.. It is so good, I'll make sure I grab the recipe off her next time I see her).

We spent the afternoon chatting, drinking tea and eating cake. It was so lovely and of course, I got absolutely spoilt with gorgeous baby gifts. I didn't have a baby shower with Sophie (I always felt it was a bit self-indulgent) but this time around I felt that I had so much to celebrate that an afternoon of eating cake was necessary!

Unfortunately though, I didn't manage to take any photos which is such a shame because Tom had been to the flower markets in the morning and the whole place (including the table setting) looked so lovely. I did however, take this photo the next day when we were still eating cake (well actually, Tom is sugar free at the moment, so I took it upon myself to finish the entire cake on my own! Oops!)

"Good God Lemon"

Source: mynewroots.blogspot.com.au via Katie on Pinterest

I just saw this cake over at 'My new roots' today and my mouth started watering on the spot!
I'll have to file this one in 'things to make when I am allowed out of bed' (or convince Tom to make it for me), but you could try it in the meantime and let me know how delicious it was..

Photo from 'My new roots' via pinterest

The title of this post has nothing to do with 'orange blossom sesame cake' and has everything to do with the fact that sometimes Tom and I watch too much 30 rock and end up talking like Jack Donaghy for the rest of the day.

(Delicious) mini carrot cakes

Tom's little sister made these mini carrot cakes for Sophie's birthday a few weeks ago.. they were soo good. I do love a good carrot cake, especially one you can fit in your mouth in one go. You can find the recipe here.

lazy town

We just got back from a few days up at the farm and so far 2012 has been pretty damn good to us.
We spent the last few days eating delicious food, doing lots of baking, having afternoon naps, reading books and generally being lazy.. quite perfect if you ask me.

Pavlova

I have been making quite a bit of pavlova lately. Such a perfect desert on warm summer nights.
I just have to learn to stop at one piece!

Rainbow Cake

I'm not sure what on earth possessed me to make a rainbow cake for Sophie's party, especially since Tom is the champion baker around here, not me! ..But, I did it!
It took me till 1am the night before and it looked so bad the next morning (it was 35 degrees in Perth that day and all the icing kept melting off) that I quickly made a chocolate cake just in case I needed a back-up!

It turned out alright.. not the prettiest cake from the outside, but hey.. none of the kids seemed to care.

Party time. Before..

Pear, chocolate and pistachio tart

How amazing does this tart from 'Cannelle et Vanille' look?
This is going to the top of my to do list!

Image from 'Cannelle et Vanille'