Banana cake with spelt flour

My fruit seller sold me this humongous comb of red banana and despite his best effort, hubby did not manage to finish all the fruit by the time it was awfully ripe. Red bananas are quite different from the yellow ones. They do not have that sweet heady scent of bananas and are more starchy to the palate. For this baker who is ambivalent of the banana, the red version fits the criteria to make a ‘you won’t believe it’s a banana cake’ cake.

 

Well, to each his own. It’s recipe is tweaked from my previous and latest recipe, this time using wholegrain spelt flour for it’s low glycemic index. The recipe yields a denser cake with a slower rise so the baking powder  and meringue provided the much needed lift it needed for an impressive looking cake.

 

Ingredients: 

 

Yoke base B:

120g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (150g if you wish for a richer version)

50g brown sugar

1 pinch of salt (or sea salt flakes)

4 yolks

2 medium bananas, mashed

 

Flour mix A : 

200g spelt  flour

1 tsp baking powder

 

extras:

1 handful toasted walnuts, smashed to smithereens

 

Meringue C:

4 egg whites

50g castor sugar

 

Method:

Prepare a 8 x 4 tin, greased and dusted. Set aside.

Place a baking rack in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

 

Cream butter. Whisk in brown sugar and salt.

Whisk in yolks, one at a time.

Whisk in bananas.

Sieve in flour and baking powder. Whisk to combine.

 

Whisk whites and sugar until it just forms stiff peaks.

Fold whites to yolk batter, in 4 portions.

 

Bake the cake in the preheated oven until the cake is tan.

Cake is ready when the skewer inserted into the cake turns out dry.

 

 

 

 

Spelt bread

Found a pack of spelt in Phoon Huat and decided to give it a go before the  weather gets too hot for baking. This recipe makes a slaggy sort of dough but folding instead of kneading it makes the second round of getting the dough  in shape much easier.

I made a huge french toast out of the remaining spelt bread because I could not finish the fresh bread on time. 

Verdict: A sturdy bread that is good for slicing to thin pieces without collapsing.

Adapted from Artisanal Breads by Eric Kastel

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients :

350ml warm water

2 tbsp coconut butter

1 tsp instant yeast

1 tsp sugar

250g spelt flour

250g bread flour

1 tsp sea salt flakes (to be added after gluten formation)

Method:

Prepare a 1kg pullman tin, greased and dusted.

In a mixer, add bread components in the order listed: water, butter, yeast,sugar, flours.

Knead on low until gluten strands form.

Add salt and continue kneading until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Leave to rise in the mixer bowl, covered, until bulk doubles in about 1 hour.

On a lightly dusted worktop, tip dough and knead to shape.

Transfer to the greased tin. I did not cover the pullman so as to achieve an artisanal dome.

Leave dough to proof in a cold oven.

To bake, preheat oven to 200C, with a little dish with ¼ cup water.

Bake the bread for 45 mins in the preheated oven.

Remove to cool completely before storing.

Cut the bread only when the bread is cooled.

Spelt salad

This salad can be eaten hot or cold. Since  I wanted to toss in some leftover cheddar cubes, I decided to have it cold so that the cheese keeps  its shape. But seriously, it is a hearty salad and the spelt’s chewy texture and chocolaty overtones makes it the main character with whatever accompanying ingredients that goes with it.

Main salad :

1 cup spelt berries

1 handful pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

1 medium beetroot, cooked and cubed

half a guava, julienned

4 slices of salami, toasted until crispy and julienned

sauce :

½ cup of balsamic + 4 Tbsp brown sugar , reduced in pan until treacle-thick. Cool.

Method :

Prepare balsamic sauce. Cool.

Cook spelt according to instructions. Cool.

Toss in nuts, beetroon, guava, salami strips and basically anything you like.

Serve on a bed of rocket.

Pour balsamic glace. Serve immediately.