The best eggless whole wheat banana walnut bread

If, like me, you buy bananas every time you go to the grocery store and end up with a few over ripe ones, this is a great way to use them up. This is a fail-proof recipe that yields the perfect loaf every single time. You can use whole wheat flour, all purpose flour or a combination of the two. The bananas make the loaf naturally sweet. So you don't have to add a lot of sugar into the batter. Every time I make this, the kitchen smells wonderful and it gets over in no time at all.






















What you need:

Whole wheat flour - 1.5 cups (Can be substituted with APF or a combination of APF & WWF)
Butter - 1/2 cup, melted (Can be substituted with oil)
Brown Sugar - 3/4 cup
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Bananas - 3 (very ripe ones, mashed with a fork)
Powdered cinnamon - 1 tsp
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Chopped walnuts - 1/4 cup
Raisins - a handful (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the mashed bananas, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well. Gently stir in the walnuts and raisins.
Pour the batter into a greased loaf tin and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely and then slice using a serrated knife.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#82

Eggless whole wheat strawberry cake

One of our favorite activities to do together as a family is strawberry picking. We love to drive down to the farm early in the morning and pick and taste strawberries. We usually come back with more strawberries than we can eat. So for a few days it is strawberry milkshakes and various kinds of bakes using these berries. I also freeze a good amount of strawberries and use them in fall and winter, and that brings a little bit of sunshine to the otherwise cold days.

What you need:

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup

All purpose flour - 1/4 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Sugar - 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp.
Butter -  1/2 cup, softened at room temperature
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Vinegar - 1 tbsp
Strawberries - 1/2 cup, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and line with parchment paper, a 9 inch cake tin. Sieve the flours, baking powder and baking soda together.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the dry ingredients, milk, vinegar
and vanilla extract. Mix well and pour into the prepared pan. Top with the chopped strawberries. Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over the strawberries. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#82

Whole wheat cranberry tea cake

Fall is one of the most spectacularly beautiful seasons where I live. Every time I see the vibrant red and yellow hues in nature, I am awed. Of course, it is a precursor to the cold, dreary winter that is to come, but while it lasts, I love the crisp, cool air and the many sights and smells of autumn. Cranberries usually make an appearance in the markets around this time and I have used dried cranberries (also known as craisins) to make an eggless tea cake. Despite using no egg and no butter, this cake has a beautiful texture and is perfect with a hot cup of coffee/tea.

What you need:

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
All purpose flour - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup *
Oil - 1/2 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
White vinegar - 1 tbsp.
Milk - 1 cup
Dried cranberries - 1/2 cup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large mixing bowl, add the oil and milk. Whisk the sugar into this. Add in flour, baking powder and baking soda. Mix well. Add vanilla extract and white vinegar. Whisk quickly. Gently mix in the cranberries. Pour into a greased loaf tin and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Cool completely and use a serrated knife to cut into slices.

This is my first post for Blogging Marathon #82 under the theme Fall fruit desserts.
 Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#82

Apple crumble - the easiest and best dessert ever

Like I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I came home with a whole lot of apples after we went apple picking recently.  I've wanted to try an apple crumble for a long time and this seemed to be the perfect time to do it. I like to think of my version as a healthy one as it uses whole wheat flour for the topping, and very little fat in the form of butter. The smell while this is being baked in the oven is absolutely delightful and makes you want to keep opening the oven and breathing it in.

What you need :
For the bottom layer :
Apples - 2 medium sized (with peel), diced
Sugar - 2 tsp
Maple syrup - 1 tsp (optional)
Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp

For the topping :
Whole wheat flour - 4 tbsp
Brown sugar - 2 tbsp
Cinnamon - 1 tsp
Cold Butter, cut into small pieces - 2 tbsp 

Take the chopped apples in a large baking dish. Squeeze lemon juice over it and mix well. Add the sugar and maple syrup and stir.

Take the ingredients for the topping in a mixing bowl. Mix with the tips of your fingers until it becomes crumbly. Evenly distribute the topping over the apples.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes or until the topping becomes dark brown and most of the moisture has evaporated. The mixture will bubble a lot once the apples start releasing their juices. So make sure your baking dish is big enough. Switch off the oven and let the dish remain in the oven for another 15 minutes. Serve warm as it is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Note:
This, served with ice cream, makes three small servings. It is easily one of the easiest and best desserts I have made to date. The topping is crisp and offers a wonderful contrast in texture to the soft, cooked apples.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#45