(nearly vegan) blueberry and banana bread

A couple of weeks ago, when I was getting all that food ready to take to Latitude, one of the things I made was a blueberry and banana loaf. Sweet crikey, I have never had such a successful baking experiment.

The resulting loaf is a cross between Victoria sponge and a proper blueberry muffin -- super light, super delicate and super tasty. This recipe seriously benefits from leaving it over night to settle into itself. Otherwise, you'll end up doing what I did the first time I made this and cutting into it too soon, thus leaving great fissures in the base which meant every other slice came away in two pieces.

ingredients:

8 oz plain flour
1 level tsp baking powder
1 level tsp baking soda
4 oz granulated sugar
4 oz vegan margarine
150 ml (1/4 pint) soya milk
1 tbsp organic honey (agave nectar would be perfect for veganising)
2--3 oz walnuts (though brazil nuts or hazelnuts would be awesome)
1 ripe banana, sliced
1/2 punnet of blueberries

method:

I was listening to The Splendid Table recently and Lynne Rossetto Kasper mentioned her frustration over the lack of direction with regard to how cups, etc. are measured, because whether you scoop or spoon, it makes a huge difference in how much flour you end up with. I tend to just weigh my flour out using my scales, but if I'm feeling lazy I scoop -- I take the measuring cup, dip it into the flour and scoop, then level off (not tap down). Apparently this is how Lynne does it, so I feel vindicated in my flouring.

In any case, preheat oven to 150 C or Gas 4 and have prepared a greased one-pound tin. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar in a large bowl, then add the margarine and rub together until crumbly in texture. Add the milk and stir until the batter gets to a nice dropping consistency, then carefully fold in the banana and blueberries -- because these are fresh rather than frozen, do take care to go gently so the blueberries remain largely intact.

Pour the batter into the tin and set in the oven on the next-to-lowest shelf. Bake for one hour or until the test knife comes out clean.

* * *

Because this bread is so light, it would be remiss of me not to mention serving this with a glass of fresh lemonade -- which reminds me, I really need to post that recipe. There is nothing in the world that spells summer like fresh lemonade.

Comments

[Katie]

I think the measuring is important depending on what you are making. If I'm making a cake, I measure very carefully, if I'm making bread I just throw it in. I've made enough bread that I can add this or that and have a good idea of how it's going to turn out.

[ZaftigWendy]

Oh, YUM! I need to get Becca to make this for me. She loves to bake!

Just when IS your cookbook coming out, anyway?

[Emily]

I listen to Lynne too, and agree that the way of measuring can make an enormous difference. one of the many reasons I think the whole 'a cup of this - a stick of that -half a cup of the other' way of describing amounts is so unhelpful. A stick of butter? Why not say the weight so those of us not in the US can easily use the recipe! And cup sizes are different in different countries, too, I gather. (Even a tablespoon is 20ml in Australia, 15ml in US/UK/NZ.

Sorry for the rant! I love the Splendid Table. And your recipes, thanks.