Rum Banana Bread

Rum Banana Bread
Rum Banana Bread

Rum Banana Bread

This Rum Banana Bread recipe is taken from Nigella Lawson’s fantastic cookery book ““.  It is very easy to make and involves the winning combination of bananas with rum soaked raisins or sultanas.   It was one of the first baking recipes that I made.

The riper the bananas, the better the taste.  If you have really squishy, black bananas  at the bottom of your fruit bowl, this is good way to use them up!  If you have bananas that are on their way to black squishiness, you can just pop them in the freezer and then defrost when you are ready to make this cake. When they are defrosted, they will be really soft and squishy – you would not want to eat one as it is – but they are fine to use in cakes like this one.  I often make this recipe using frozen bananas and the taste and texture of the finished cake is no different from when I use fresh bananas.

This cake does contain alcohol but the cooking process means that you just get a mild rum flavour.  Don’t be worried about giving this cake to children – mine have all eaten it from when they were very young.   However, if you are teetotal or do not wish to use alcohol, you can soak the raisins in water or apple juice.

Rum Banana Bread
Delicious Rum Banana Bread

Rum Banana Bread

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Rum Banana Bread

Rum Banana Bread

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 20
  • Cook Time: 60
  • Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Yield: for 8 people 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This recipe, with minor variations, is based on one in Nigella Lawson’s “How to be a Domestic Goddess”.  It is very easy to make and the combination of bananas, rum and raisins is fantastic.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 100 g raisins or sultanas
  • 75 ml rum
  • 125 g salted butter (add 1 teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter) – melted
  • 160 g sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 or 5 very ripe bananas
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 175 g plain flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
Rum Banana Bread
Rum Banana Bread

Instructions

  1. Put the raisins or sultanas in a bowl.  Add the rum.  Heat in the microwave at “high” for 1 minute.  Cover and set aside.   This will allow the dried fruit to absorb the rum.
  2. Set your oven at 170 C or Gas Mark 3.
  3. Grease a medium-sized loaf tin (23 x 13 x 7 cm).
  4.  Put the melted butter and sugar into a large bowl.  Add the eggs and stir to combine.
  5. Mash the bananas and add them to the bowl together with the vanilla essence.
  6. Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture.   Add the rum-soaked dried fruit.  Stir to combine.
  7. Pour the cake mix into the prepared loaf tin.  Put in the oven and cook for 1 hour.
  8. Remove from the oven and place the tin on a cake rack until cool.   Remove the cake from the tin.

Notes

This is a great recipe for using up old bananas – the squishier the banana, the better the flavour.  You can freeze old bananas until you are ready to make the cake.

You can make a non-alcoholic version by replacing the rum with apple juice or water.

This cake is lovely on its own.  However, you can spread the slices with butter if you are feeling indulgent!

You can keep this cake for 3-4 days, wrapped in foil, and it will improve in flavour.

Keywords: bananas, rum, raisins, cake, banana bread,

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White Currant Cake

White currant recipes
White Currant Cake

White Currant Cake

I came up with the idea for this cake after searching for  “white currant recipes” on Google and finding….not very many!   In my garden, I have a number of long-established currant bushes in my garden.   I always find lots of uses for the red currants and the black currants but always struggle to find recipes that make the most of the white currants.

Advice from the internet is that you can use white currants as a substitute for red currants.  However, I wanted a recipe that would make the most of their pale, understated, opalescent beauty.    My feeling was that a pale, minimal cake, simply decorated with fresh white currants, was what was needed in visual terms.    To balance the creamy mascarpone icing, I made a sharp-sweet white currant compote to sandwich the layers of cake.

White Currant Cake

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White currant recipes

White Currant Cake

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 1 cake serving 10-12 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This cake is a pale and understated beauty with creamy mascarpone icing, a tangy white currant compote filling, and minimal decoration of beautiful opalescent white currants.


Ingredients

Scale

For the cake:

  • 450 g butter (softened)
  • 450 g caster sugar
  • 8 eggs
  • 450 g self-raising flour
  • 7 tablespoons of milk
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla essence

For the white currant compote:

  • 300 g white currants
  • 180 g caster sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of water

For the filling and  topping

  • 500 g mascarpone
  • 200 ml double cream
  • 3 tablespoons of  icing sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 3 or four sprigs of white currants

Instructions

Method:  Cake

  1. Set your oven to 180 degrees centigrade or Gas Mark 4.
  2. Cream the butter with the sugar.  (I usually soften the butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave first as it makes it much easier!)
  3. Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture.  If it looks as if it is going to curdle, add some of the self-raising flour.
  4. Once the eggs have been incorporated add the rest of the self-raising flour.
  5. Add the milk and vanilla extract.
  6. Grease three 19 cm Victoria Sandwich tins and then add the cake mixture.
  7. Bake your cakes in the oven for around 30 minutes.  They are done when they are golden brown, springy to the touch and have shrunk away from the edge of the tin.  You can test this by inserting a skewer in the middle of the cake – if it comes out cleanly with no mixture attached, your cake is done.
  8. Allow your cakes to cool on a rack before removing them from the tins or containers.

Method:  White currant compote

  1. Wash the white currants and remove them from their stalks.
  2. Put the white currants, sugar and water into a saucepan. Gently heat to simmering point and then cook for one minute.
  3. Remove the currants from the sugar liquid and set aside.
  4. Bring the sugar liquid to boiling point and boil rapidly for 5 minutes.
  5. Return the currants to the sugar liquid and allow to cool.

Method:  Filling and topping

  1. Whip the mascarpone, cream and vanilla essence with the icing sugar until the mixture is combined and forms soft peaks.
  2. Spread a quarter of the mascarpone mixture on top of one of the cakes which will form the bottom tier.   Spread a half of the white currant compote on top of it.
  3. Place the second cake on top of the first one.   Spread a quarter of the mascarpone mixture on top of this cake which will form the middle tier.   Spread a half of the white currant compote on top of it.
  4. Place the third cake on top of the second one.   Use the remaining half of the mascarpone mixture to coat the top and sides of the assembled cake.
  5. Decorate with the sprigs of fresh white currants.
  6. In the (unlikely) event that there is any cake left over, this needs to be stored in the fridge due to the cream icing.  It will keep for a couple of days but, like all sponge cakes, it tastes better when it is freshly made.

Keywords: white currants, cake, victoria sandwich cake

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Honey Cream Tea with Lavender Scones

Lavender Scones
Honey Cream Tea with Lavender Scones

Honey Cream Tea with Lavender Scones

This Honey Cream Tea, made with Lavender Scones, is a variation on the traditional English Cream Tea which uses plain or fruited scones sandwiched with jam and cream.

I first tasted a Honey Cream Tea many years ago when visiting Quince Honey Farm in Devon.   Understandably, given the primary product of the farm, they served scones sandwiched with cream and honey, rather than the traditional jam.   When I decided to write a recipe for Lavender Scones, it occurred to me that a honey and cream filling would go very well with their floral flavour – and so it proved!  If you have lavender-scented honey, so much the better.

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Lavender Scones, Honey Cream Tea

Honey Cream Tea with Lavender Scones

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 15 scones 1x
  • Category: Scones
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This Honey Cream Tea is made with lavender-flavoured scones sandwiched together with honey and whipped cream.  It is a variation on a traditional English Cream Tea, which combines plain or fruited scones with jam and cream.

Lavender Scones
Honey Cream Tea

Ingredients

Scale
  • 350 g self-raising flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 85 g butter
  • 25 g caster sugar
  • 4 fresh lavender buds (or 2 tablespoons of culinary lavender)
  • 2 eggs
  • 100 ml milk
  • A small pot of good quality (ideally locally-sourced) honey
  • 300 ml double cream (whipped)
Lavender scones
Lavender scones

Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 200 C/400 F/Gas Mark 6.
  2. Put the flour and baking powder in a large bowl.  Cut the butter into small cubes and add it to the flour.  Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
  3. Add the sugar to the flour and butter mixture.
  4. Detach the small flowers from the lavender stalks and add them to the mixture.
  5. Lightly beat the eggs and add them and the milk to the mixture.
  6. Use your hands to very gently combine the mixture so that it forms a soft dough.
  7. Press the dough out onto a floured surface.  It needs to be about 1cm thick.  Use a round cutter to cut out dough shapes and place them on a greased baking sheet.
  8. Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 15 minutes until the scones have risen and are a light golden colour.
  9. Transfer the scones to a cooling rack.
  10. When they are cool, split them in half and sandwich together with honey and whipped cream.
Lavender scones, honey cream tea
Lavender scones

Keywords: lavender, scones, lavender scones, honey cream tea

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Lavender Sugar and Rose Geranium Sugar

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Rose and Strawberry Cream Cake

This Rose and Strawberry Cream cake is one of my favourite show-stopping recipes for a summer celebration. It is a basic Victoria sponge cake, delicately flavoured with rose, sandwiched with rose-scented strawberry jam and whipped cream.

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Loved this recipe? Check out the recipe index.

An easy cake recipe for a summer celebration

I created this Rose and Strawberry Cream Cake for a family birthday.    My brief was to produce a simple Victoria Sandwich cake with jam and cream with no “funny stuff” (why do my family always say this….?).   I tried very hard to stick to the brief and started off with a classic strawberry-and-cream Victoria Sandwich cake but, inevitably, I got enthused by the possibilities of adding an element of rose (strawberry and rose – such a great combination!).

My efforts resulted in a lovely buttery  Victoria sponge,  sandwiched together with strawberry and rose-flavoured jam and billowing cream, and adorned by romantically-strewn rose petals.  I was very proud until my daughter said to me “It’s not the most masculine of cakes, is it?” and I was struck by the realisation that perhaps my hearty, hill-walking husband might not be as enthusiastic about the rose petals as I was….. Luckily, he tends to focus on how things taste and was quite happy with his rather girly looking cake.  (And as one of my sons, quite rightly, commented, “you need to break those gender stereotypes, mum…!”).

Loved this recipe? Check out the recipe index.

What you need to know about my Rose and Strawberry Cream cake

  • It is very easy to make. I generally make it the day before we are planning to eat it as you need to make sure the cake is completely cool before assembling it.
  • You don’t need access to fresh roses in order to make this cake as the flavouring comes from rosewater. I have lots of roses in my garden and often make Crystallised Rose Petals to decorate the cake. They are very easy to make but you do need to make them the day before so that they have time to dry off.  However, if you do not have access to fresh roses which you are certain have not been chemically-sprayed, you can decorate the cake differently. For example, sliced fresh strawberries or piped cream would look pretty good.
  • I use my home-made Strawberry and Rose Geranium Jam in this cake but, if you don’t have the time or inclination to make this,  you can flavour ordinary strawberry jam with rosewater. Just add a few drops of rosewater to four tablespoons of home-made or store-bought strawberry jam.

Edible flower recipes – roselavender and elderflower

As is probably obvious from the title of this blog, I love using floral flavourings in my cooking. For rose-lovers, there are some great easy baking recipes including  Almond Shortbread with Rosewater. For dessert, you could try Rose Ice Cream,  Rose and Raspberry Pavlova or Rose Meringues. I also have a fantastic easy recipe for delicious floral Rose Petal Jam and an easy-peasy recipe for Crystallised Rose Petals.

Lavender-lovers might like the recipes for Lavender Ice CreamLavender Cake and Lavender Shortbread and Honey Cream Tea with Lavender Scones.

For elderflower-lovers, there are recipes for Elderflower Ice CreamGooseberry and Elderflower Sorbet and Elderflower and Lemon Cupcakes. I also have a recipe for a classic Elderflower Cordial and also really easy recipes for Elderflower Gin and a lovely floral-flavoured Elderflower Vinegar.

Loved this recipe? Check out the recipe index.

Other baking recipes

I love home-baking and make a lot of easy, traditional cakesbiscuits (cookies) and desserts.

Rose and Strawberry Cream Cake recipe

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Rose and Strawberry Cake

Rose and Strawberry Cream Cake

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 60
  • Cook Time: 35
  • Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
  • Yield: serves 8 to 10 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This is a show-stopping cake which brings together the English summer tastes of strawberry and rose together with cream and buttery sponge.


Ingredients

Scale
For the cake:
  • 225 g (8 oz) butter (softened)
  • 225 g (8 oz) caster or superfine sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 225 g (8 oz) self-raising flour
  • 3 tablespoons of milk
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
  • 1 teaspoon of rosewater
For the sandwich filling:
  • Either 4 tablespoons of Strawberry and Rose Geranium Jam or 4 tablespoons of strawberry jam plus a few drops of rosewater  
  • 300 ml (Half a pint) double cream
For the topping

Instructions

Method:  Cake

  1. Set your oven to 180 degrees centigrade, 350 degrees fahrenheit or Gas Mark 4.
  2. Cream the butter with the sugar.  (I usually soften the butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave first as it makes it much easier!)
  3. Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture.  If it looks as if it is going to curdle, add some of the self-raising flour.
  4. Once the eggs have been incorporated add the rest of the self-raising flour.
  5. Add the milk,  vanilla extract and rosewater.
  6. Grease your Victoria Sandwich tins or containers and then add the cake mixture.
  7. Bake your cakes in the oven for around 35 minutes.  They are done when they are golden brown, springy to the touch and have shrunk away from the edge of the tin.  You can test this by inserting a skewer in the middle of the cake – if it comes out cleanly with no mixture attached, your cake is done.
  8. Allow your cakes to cool on a rack before removing them from the tins or containers.

Method:  Filling and topping

  1. Spread the rose-flavoured strawberry jam over the top of one of your cakes.
  2. Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks.  Spread it on top of the jam.  Then place the other cake on top.
  3. Put the icing sugar in a sieve and sift it over the top of the assembled cake.
  4. Decorate the cake with Crystallised Rose Petals.
  5. In the (unlikely) event that there is any cake left over, this needs to be stored in the fridge due to the cream icing.  It will keep for a couple of days but, like all sponge cakes, it tastes better when it is freshly made.

Keywords: rose and strawberry cake, victoria sandwich, cream

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Lilac Cake – Lilac and Vanilla Victoria Sandwich Cake with Lilac Honey and Mascarpone Frosting

Lilac honey mascarpone
Lilac cake with mascarpone and lilac honey frosting

Lilac and Vanilla Victoria Sandwich Cake with Lilac Honey and Mascarpone Frosting

This Lilac and Vanilla Victoria Sandwich Cake is early summer on a plate!  It tastes wonderful – creamy, buttery and floral – and looks beautiful with its decoration of edible flowers.  I made my Lilac Cake for a special family tea, which thanks to recent surprisingly sunny weather, we were actually able to eat in the garden, close to the tree that had provided the blossoms.

This is a simple Victoria Sandwich cake, which is flavoured with lilac through the use of Lilac Sugar in the cake mix and Lilac Honey in the frosting.     It is really easy to make both the flavoured Sugar and Honey but you need to do this around a week before you plan to make your Lilac Cakee to allow the lilac flavour to be absorbed.   If you don’t have the time, inclination or opportunity to do this, you can make the cake without the lilac flavour – just use ordinary sugar in the cake mix and ordinary honey in the frosting.  The cake will still be delicious but, personally, I think it is worth going down the lilac route as the taste is unusual and results in a beautiful floral cake (to taste and to look at!) which captures the spirit of an early English summer.

Lilac honey for frosting
Lilac honey

Equipment

2 x 21 cm  or containers

Lilac cake
Eggs

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Lilac mascarpone and honey

Lilac and Vanilla Victoria Sandwich Cake with Lilac Honey and Mascarpone Frosting

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 60
  • Cook Time: 35
  • Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
  • Yield: for 10 people 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This is a fabulous Lilac Cake which celebrates the taste of English lilac.  It looks and tastes amazing and would be fantastic for an early summer birthday or special party.


Ingredients

Scale

For the cake:

  • 450 g butter (softened)
  • 450 g Lilac Sugar (or caster sugar)
  • 8 eggs
  • 450 g self-raising flour
  • 7 tablespoons of milk
  • 2 teaspoons of [amazon_link asins='B00DUF3D9C|B0046EJ570|B00DUF3D9C|B00DUF3D9C|B007TA9ONI' text='Vanilla Essence' template='ProductLink' store='tastebotanica-21success|tastebotanica-20|tastebotani0c-21success|tastebotani0a-21success|tastebotani01-21success' marketplace='UK|US|IT|FR|DE' link_id='9c5499ff-68a6-11e8-a321-8188ded5e5dd']

For the frosting:

  • 500 g mascarpone
  • 2 tbs of Lilac Honey (or ordinary honey)
  • Fresh lilac flowers from two flower heads

Instructions

Method:  Cake

  1. Set your oven to 180 degrees centigrade or Gas Mark 4.
  2. Cream the butter with the sugar.  (I usually soften the butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave first as it makes it much easier!)
  3. Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture.  If it looks as if it is going to curdle, add some of the self-raising flour.
  4. Once the eggs have been incorporated add the rest of the self-raising flour.
  5. Add the milk and the vanilla extract.  It really makes a difference if you use a good quality vanilla extract – as opposed to vanilla essence – as this will give it a much more intense flavour.
  6. Grease your Victoria Sandwich tins or containers and then add the cake mixture.
  7. Bake your cakes in the oven for around 35 minutes.  They are done when they are golden brown, springy to the touch and have shrunk away from the edge of the tin.  You can test this by inserting a skewer in the middle of the cake – if it comes out cleanly with no mixture attached, your cake is done.
  8. Allow your cakes to cool on a rack before removing them from the tins or containers.

Method:  Frosting

  1. Beat the mascarpone and honey together in a food processor or using a hand blender until the mixture has thickened slightly.
  2. Use a third of the frosting to sandwich together your two cakes.
  3. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the assembled Lilac Cake.
  4. Take the small lilac flowers off the flower heads and wash them in cold water.   Allow to dry off on kitchen towel and then use them to decorate the top of the cake.   You need to complete this part of the decoration just before you are ready to serve the cake to ensure that the flowers look fresh and lovely!
  5. In the (unlikely) event that there is any Lilac Cake left over, this needs to be stored in the fridge due to the mascarpone icing.  It will keep for a couple of days but, like all sponge cakes, it tastes better when it is freshly made.

Notes

Make sure that the lilac you use has not been treated with chemicals.  The best place to get it is from your garden or that of a friend or neighbour.  Shop-bought lilac is not suitable for this recipe.

Keywords: lilac cake, lilac and vanilla cake

Mascarpone and lilac honey frosting
Spread the frosting on the Lilac Cake

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