Raspberry cinnamon banana bread

Raspberries. Cinnamon. Banana. I don’t know about you, but that’s heaven to my ears… and my taste buds! honestly, this cake just tastes so amazing, it’s moist, sweet, and with just that undertone of spice, it’s absolutely perfect!

Plus, it makes the kitchen smell sooooo good!

I’ve finally finished all my mocks, thank the lord, what a relief. And i’m going to Belgium tomorrow, just me and my mum, which I love, it’s just such a relaxation, and we always go shopping. Always! Every girls’ dream- and since i’m the only one, I guess that means i’m going to have two ladies spending all their money on me, thanks mumma and bonne mami!

INGREDIENTS:

• 255g soft brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 270g flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 130g unsalted butter, melted
• 120g raspberries

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 170C/160C fan.
2. Melt the butter and leave to cool to room temperature.
3. Whisk together the sugar and eggs, and then add the mashed bananas.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Add this to the egg mixture and carefully fold the mixtures together.
5. Add the cooled butter to the mixture and carefully fold it in, followed by folding in the raspberries.
6. Pour into two greased and lined loaf tins and bake for 45 minutes until golden (you may need to cover them with foil after about 20 minutes). Once baked, allow to cool in the tin until cool enough to handle. Turn it out and allow to cool on a cooling rack. Can be enjoyed both warm and cold.

ENJOY

More Mousse, this time in a bowl

So, i’m back on mousse. However, this time, they are strawberry and chocolate flavours, AND, they come in a special chocolate bowl. Fancy.

The women came over last night, so i was puppy-sitting for the most adorable puppy ever, her name is Izzy, a completely black show cocker, and the sweetest thing ever. I WAS IN HEAVEN!

These were surprisingly easy to whip up, and on either side of a trip to the ER for a skin infection, I managed to get these done in no time.

INGREDIENTS:

• 150g dark chocolate (and 5 balloons)
• extra chocolate to grate over before serving
• fresh berries to decorate

For the strawberry mousse:

• 250g fresh strawberries, diced up
• 25g caster sugar
• 140g mini marshmallows
• 200ml double cream

For the chocolate mousse:

• 225gdark chocolate
• 5 eggs
• 100g caster sugar
• 170g unsalted butter

METHOD:

1. First, melt the chocolate for the chocolate bowls, and leave to cool. Blow up the balloons to the size you would like your bowls, then on a baking tray lined with baking paper, spoon small amounts of the chocolate to make bases for the cups.
2. Dip the balloons into the chocolate so that it comes to half way up the balloon, and place onto the base. Repeat for all the balloons, then leave to chill in the fridge. 
3. Once the chocolate has set completely (about 3 hours), cut a small hole in the balloon and slowly pull it off of the bowl, repeating for each one.
4. Put strawberries into a pan along with 100ml water and the sugar. Over a medium heat, cook strawberries until soft enough to mash, about 3 mins. Take off the heat and squash the berries, using a potato masher, until pulpy.
5. Sieve to make smooth and get rid of seeds.  Add the marshmallows, then stir them into the hot strawberries until they dissolve. Leave to cool.
6. Whip the cream until it holds its shape. Fold the cream into the cooled strawberry mix, then spoon into chocolate bowls and chill for about 2 hrs, or until set.
7. For the chocolate mousse, melt the chocolate slowly over a bain marie then leave to cool slightly.
8. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Beat the egg yolks and most of the sugar together until creamy and pale in colour (keep two teaspoons of sugar to one side for the egg whites).
9. When chocolate has cooled, whisk the chocolate into the egg yolk and sugar mixture.
10. Melt the butter in a pan over a low heat.
11. Whisk the melted butter into the chocolate mixture. If it gets too thick, add a couple of tablespoons of water.
12. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites and the remaining two teaspoons of sugar with an electric whisk until they’re light and fluffy and hold a soft peak.
13. Carefully fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture using a metal spoon.
14. Spoon the chocolate mixture over the strawberry mousse and chill for at least 2 hours.
15. Before serving, decorate with fresh berries and grate some chocolate over the top.

(this recipe makes more mousse than will fit in the cups so you can have extra in a bowl to serve if anybody wants more)

ENJOY