Banana Bread

I made some banana bread over the weekend. This is the recipe I usually follow when I’m making banana bread, but this time I was looking for something different and wanted to try another recipe for a change. I came across this one that looked very good, but at the last moment I realized that I did not have sour cream, a key ingredient in the recipe. So I made a few substitutions and ended up with a recipe that is a combination of both the recipes with a few additional ingredients thrown in. 

Here's what needs to be done-

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour your pan.  (I had enough batter for my regular 8 x 4- inch loaf pan and a mini one too.)

Mix together the following ingredients in a bowl-

• 1 ½  cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½  tsp. salt
• A pinch of cardamom powder
• ¼  tsp powdered cloves
• ½  tsp cinnamon

In another bowl, beat together these wet ingredients-

• ¾  cup sugar
• ½  cup olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed banana (from about 2   very ripe bananas)
• ½  cup yogurt (I used low-fat)
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine the dry and wet ingredients together and mix well. Fold in the following -

• ¼  cup butterscotch morsels
• ¼  cup toffee bits (I used Heath Bits ‘O Brickle Toffee Bits)
• ½  cup toasted and chopped hazelnuts

Pour the batter into the greased pans. Bake for  45-50 minutes  or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out relatively clean. My small loaf was done in 30-35 minutes. Cool, slice and serve.

The recipe was a success- the bread had the perfect amount of sweetness, and it was soft and moist. A slice or two of  this delicious loaf  makes a wonderful accompaniment to a cup of tea.