Going Bananas For Banana Bread
G I F T
Really grateful to my foodie friend @eechong for snagging a box of the elusive and very much sought-after @banelesg for us. Everything I heard, and read about on social media about it, proved true. There was definitely no exaggeration.
After adhering strictly to the heating instructions: 200 degrees for 5 mins in the air fryer, I had my mind blown good and proper. Caramelised to proper crustiness on top and around, the Banele was cushiony soft, a little fluffy and moist within. That, coupled with the heady fragrance of cooked bananas intertwined in dark chocolate triggered all salivary glands within smelling distance into overdrive. I inhaled one that very night of receiving this gift. And followed up with another the next day for breakfast. Now, I am someone who hardly does breakfast, let alone a sweet one, but exceptions must be made for the exceptional.
Ordered this for delivery during the Circuit Breaker and it was wonderful, BUT nothing beats having @thelokalsingapore’s housemade Banana Bread right on their premises.
Served warm, it comes in a generous big block and is lavished in caramelised bananas and yogurt (both made from scratch in-house too). Then, on go toasted macadamia nuts and for the finishing touch, grated lime zest. So in every bite there’s fragrance, warmth, sweetness, mushiness, buttery crunch and a teensy bright note of citrus freshness. I still think it’s extraordinarily yums, like it‘s always been from my first taste of it a couple of years ago.
Chef-owner Darren (@fuzzychef) shared with me when I dropped by last night that @thelokalsingapore is now open from Wednesdays to Sundays and serves their Brunch Menu from 9am to 9pm. That’s not to say they have stopped their Dinner Menu because it’s available in the evening but if you get a craving for Bacon & Eggs for dinner, or feel like doing things your way via their “Pimp My Breakfast” option (there are 15 items to choose from), you now know where to go. I actually really like the sound of that and plan to check it out soon.
I was contacted on Facebook by HoongMooi, the lady behind @BrunoiseSg, a home baker who specialises in low-sugar cakes and other bakes. She had seen on Burpple that I like banana loaves and wanted to bake me one. I was happy to try under the condition that I pay for it, which she agreed.
Well, I'm really pleased she reached out to me because her banana loaf is indeed very good. For chocolate lovers, the one pictured above has blobs of Nutella inside which makes it even lovelier!
After heating up the slices for a few minutes, the cake which is made with browned President brand butter, became extra fragrant with the scent of ripe bananas and chocolate. Texturally, it's still moist even though warming it in the oven gave it the subtlest of crunch on the exterior (something I personally enjoy). Alternatively, you can pop it in a microwave for 30 seconds if you want it soft throughout.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a delicious banana loaf. You can find out more on her company's Facebook page: "Brunoise.Sg".
It's very reassuring when you return to a place you haven't been to in a long while and everything is as good as ever, if not better.
I wanted to save tummy space for my favourite, the Banana Bread. So it was necessary to "pimp my breakfast" in a modest fashion; which I did with fried eggs, shredded roast chicken and sautéed spinach. Thus I could comfortably indulge in what I still consider the BEST Banana Bread in Singapore. I love that they serve it warm with a thick butterscotch sauce, cool vanilla yogurt (also made from scratch by the chef, just like the Banana Bread itself), toasted hazelnuts and freshly-grated orange zest. It is so scrumptious you're really missing out if you don't give it a try.
The thing is, you can never tell by sight if a slab of banana bread is going to disappoint or impress. Plain-looking in comparison to almost every other dessert and pastry, it all boils down to that first bite. Well, unlike too many out there, this one at Hoopla Coffee & Kitchen met my expectations.
Besides its extravagant perfume of ripe bananas which first seduced my sense of smell, what I liked very much was the abundance of flavour and moistness. To me, dryness in a cake means death. #sorrynotsorry
I have looked high and low but hand on my heart, the banana bread at The Lokal is still my number one. Mostly because it's served warm and blanketed in their luscious housemade vanilla yogurt. Of course the cooked banana pieces, caramel sauce and toasted hazel nuts don't hurt 😄
Took a while to decide what to have with my hot latte as there were numerous tempting things on display. I finally picked the banana walnut bread, one of my favourites here. Once again, it pressed all the right buttons with its comforting home-made goodness of sweet bananas and lightly-crunchy walnuts.
Strangely, the sliced Granny Smith apples mentioned in the menu were M.I.A. but the other components, namely homemade banana bread, peanut butter, crumble and ice-cream made it to the plate. There was also a surprise appearance put in by a lovely berry compote.
If you have tried all the variations of waffles Stateland Cafe is known for and are itching for something new, this is something you can consider. The ice-cream's not the creamiest but the banana bread's fresh and fragrant. I just wish it's served as one thick, hefty piece rather than two thin slices.
Chopped walnuts invade this banana loaf like brave warriors waging war against the banana in there. So you get lots of crunchy texture throughout which keeps it interesting. The size is quite big too; definitely worth the $4.
I know it isn't quite banana bread but hey, there's plenty of banana in it. And what this cake lacks in size, it makes up big-time in taste. The chocolate ganache alone is glorious. Layered with the banana, the result is sensational. This is a cake I would return for.
It was so sweet of the chef, Jodin and his team to surprise me with this dressed-up banana cake (complete with a forever-flaming candle) when they found out it was my birthday. Pretty presentation aside, the cake itself was really marvelous in terms of taste.
To get it so moist and rich with banana flavour, the chef and his fellow baker explained that they use only the very, very ripest of bananas to make it. We're talking bananas ripened (via a "secret method") to the point where the fruit becomes completely pitch black in colour. One such banana was even brought out of the kitchen as proof!
For me, seeing their effort to get the best out of a single ingredient that goes into the making of a one item alone, really impressed upon me the GastroSmiths team's deep passion for creating food of quality. These guys have definitely got my support.
In this signature cake of VCR's, the two elements of peanut butter and banana wrestled each other for my attention. It was impossible to call the winner because my tastebuds were completely boggled by them. One moment it was "oh wow, banana... nice!". The next, "no, hang on, it's peanut butter!". This went on and on until the last crumb was eaten. Best conundrum ever 😋
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