Banana Split Quick Bread #BreadBakers

This banana split quick bread is baked with all the things you love about that special dessert, save the ice cream. Serve it with a scoop, if desired but it’s wonderful treat all on its own. 

For this month’s Bread Bakers I’m the host so I decided to take ever-popular banana bread and ask my fellow bakers to put their own spin on it. I didn’t have a recipe in mind myself and then suddenly, the deadline to bake was upon me. 

Inspiration struck at my local grocery store where some clever person had put together the ingredients (sans ice cream since it wasn’t in the freezer section) for banana splits in the hope that shoppers would take the hint. 

Crushed pineapple, maraschino cherries, chocolate sauce, pecans and, of course, bananas. Like most independent ideas I seem to have, I discovered that this one has been done before. Deep sigh. 

Banana Split Quick Bread

This recipe is adapted from one on Taste of Home. Among other changes, and since it’s cherry season, I used fresh ones instead of maraschino cherries. If you like them, feel free to use them. They do make a brighter show when the bread is sliced. 

Ingredients

1/3 cup or 75g butter

2/3 cup or 132g sugar

2 large eggs

1 3/4 cups or 218g all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup or 185g mashed ripe bananas (about 1 1/2 medium)

1 can (8 oz or 227g) crushed pineapple, drained

1/2 cup or 90g semisweet chocolate chips

3 1/2 oz or 100g fresh cherries (weight after stemming and pitting – about 1/2 cup chopped)

1/2 cup or 60g chopped pecans

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and line a loaf pan with baking parchment. 

Chop the cherries with a sharp knife.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the first egg and beat until incorporated.

Add the second egg and beat well. 

Beat in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, bananas and pineapple. 

Fold in the chocolate chips, cherries and pecans.

Spoon your thick batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top. 

Bake at for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, rotating the pan about three-quarters of the way through. If the top is brown before it’s cooked in the middle, cover the loaf lightly with some foil. 

Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack.

If you can resist, leave to cool completely before cutting. 

I just couldn’t wait and so the bread knife kind of smeared the warm chocolate bits on the cut slices. No matter, still tasted delicious! 

 

Enjoy!

Do you like banana bread? If so, this is your month for Bread Bakers! Check out all the creative recipes below. 

• Air Fryer Banana Blueberry Oats Muffins from Cook with Renu
• Banana Cinnamon Rolls from Passion Kneaded
• Banana Split Quick Bread from Food Lust People Love
• Coconut Flour Banana Bread - Gluten & Sugar Free from Sneha’s Recipe
• Simply Banana Bread from A Messy Kitchen
• Sugar Free Sourdough Banana Bread with Pecans from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Tangzhong Banana Buns from Magical Ingredients
• Triple Berry Banana Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Yeasted Banana Sandwich Bread from Karen’s Kitchen Stories

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

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Pilpelchuma - Libyan Chili Paste

Spicy, garlicky pilpelchuma may be my new favorite condiment. From the Libyan Jewish tradition, it’s made with dried peppers, Aleppo pepper flakes and plenty of fresh garlic. 

Despite living right next door to Libya in Egypt, I must confess that I knew very little about its cuisine so when our Sunday FunDay host chose Libyan food as our theme this week, I had to resort to googling. 

I discovered that there is a lot of overlap in dishes from both countries, for example, hummus, shakshouka and couscous. Like Egyptians, Libyans are also fond of lamb, mutton and harissa. 

Discovering that pasta dishes were popular during my search also took me down the rabbit hole of Libyan history where I found out that Libya was an Italian colony for almost three decades starting in 1911, until the British took control during World War II. During that war the country was the center of various battles and control shifted between the allies and the axis forces several times, making it a very dangerous place for the local Jewish population. 

Jewish Libyans were persecuted, forced into labor, sent to concentration camps and killed outright. Those who could afford to emigrated. According to Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, the Jewish population fell from 25 percent to now zero in current day Libya. 

Pilpelchuma, also called filfel chuma or maseer, is a recipe from the Jewish Libyan diaspora, those who survived the war and managed to make a life elsewhere, so I decided to make this spicy paste for my post. 

Pilpelchuma  - Libyan Chili Paste

This recipe is adapted from one on Lin’s Food but a simple search turns up myriad renditions. They all seem to have dried peppers, garlic and caraway though. You'll need a small processor and a way to grind the spices into a powder but this delicious paste is really easy to make.

Ingredients - makes 1 cup or 240ml 

15 dried red chili peppers, any sort 

1 1/2 teaspoons whole caraway seeds

1 1/2  teaspoons whole cumin seeds

15 medium-sized garlic cloves

1/3 cup or 80ml olive oil plus extra for covering before storage

1 tablespoon Aleppo pepper flakes or sub regular paprika (not smoked)

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2  teaspoon salt

1/2  teaspoon white sugar

Method

Cut the dried chili peppers into 2-3 pieces and put them into a small heat resistant bowl. Cover them with boiling water then cover the bowl with a saucer and leave to soak for at least 30 minutes. I got distracted by another project and mine soaked for a couple of hours. 

Toast the cumin and caraway seeds in a dry pan over a low flame. Shake the pan occasionally so they don’t burn and remove them from the stove as soon as they look a little darker and smell fragrant. 

Leave the seeds to cool for a few minutes then grind them to a fine powder in a clean coffee grinder or with a mortar and pestle. 

Use tongs to remove the soaked chili peppers from the water, leaving any seeds that fall out behind. Put them in your food processor. Peel and trim the hard ends off the cloves of garlic. 

Put the garlic in the food processor with the chili peppers and half of the olive oil. 

Process for one minute, scraping down the bowl of the processor occasionally. 

Now add in the rest of the oil, the pepper flakes (or paprika), the ground spices, lemon juice, salt and sugar.

Process till smooth. 

Store in a sterilized jar, topped with a little more olive oil, in the refrigerator. Replace the oil each time you use a little of the pipelchuma so it stays fresh. This will last a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.

Ideas to use pipelchuma: 

1. Toss with roast potatoes
2. Add a dollop to hummus, scrambled eggs or pasta
3. Thin with a little more oil and lemon juice for a spicy salad dressing
4. Stir through yogurt or sour cream to make dip or a topping for cooked fish
5. Marinate chicken, beef or lamb before grilling
6.  Stir through cooked greens, like collards, spinach or Brussels sprouts

Enjoy! 

One of the reasons I like to take part in group posts with a theme is the opportunity they often present to learn something new so many thanks to our host, Amy of Amy’s Cooking Adventures! Check out all of the Libyan recipes below. I'm looking forward to trying a few!

• Bureek Tajin from A Day in the LIfe on the Farm
• Ejja - Libyan Frittata from Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Libyan Harissa Paste from Cook with Renu
• Libyan Lamb Stew with White Beans and Spinach from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Macroona Imbakbaka (Libyan Minestrone) from Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Maghreb Chicken and Vegetable Stew from Palatable Pastime
• Mbakbaka (Spicy Libyan Pasta) from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Pilpelchuma - Libyan Chili Paste from Food Lust People Love
• Sharba Libiya - Libyan Mint and Lamb Soup from Pandemonium Noshery
• Tajin Sfinari bil Zaytun/ Libyan Lamb Casserole with Carrots and Green Olives from Sneha’s Recipe

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Brown Sugar Nectarine Muffins #MuffinMonday

These Brown Sugar Nectarine Muffins are the perfect snack or on-the-go breakfast, not too sweet and filled with healthy fruit. Your family will love them! 

Seasonal fruit-filled muffins are one of my favorite things to bake. I always feel just a little more virtuous when I know my ingredients are mostly sourced locally and I’m fortunate that my nearby grocery store proudly displays the origin of their produce. 

A couple of years ago, I ordered a box of Georgia peaches from the The Peach Truck – you’ve probably seen their ads on social media lately – and while the peaches were wonderful, they had come a good distance to get to me. Also, the minimum order is 25 lbs. I must have lost my mind to think three people could eat 25 lbs of peaches!

I made pie. I made jam. I made spicy chutney. We ate COUNTLESS peaches! Finally, I cut them off the pits and froze sliced peaches with a little sugar in Ziploc bags. I learned my lesson though. Never ordering from The Peach Truck again! At least not alone. Perhaps someday I’ll share a box. 

Besides, I really do prefer nectarines with their smooth skins. Just me?

Ingredients for 6 muffins

3/4 cup or 94g all purpose flour

1/4 cup or 50g brown sugar, plus extra for topping

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 ripe but firm nectarine (about 6 oz or 170g whole)

1/3 cup or 80ml milk

1/4 cup or 57g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line a 6-cup muffin pan with baking cups or grease the pan with a little oil or butter.

Discard the pit from the nectarine and cut it into small pieces. Set aside six pieces to top the muffins. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder and cinnamon. Stir in the big pile of chopped nectarines and separate the pieces, coating them all with the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, melted butter, egg and vanilla. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold until just combined. 

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Top each with the reserved piece of nectarine and sprinkle a bit of brown sugar on top of each muffin. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Set on a wire rack to cool. 

Enjoy!

It’s the last Monday of the month and that means it’s Muffin Monday! How is June almost over already? Check out the lovely muffins my blogger friends are sharing with you. 

• Brown Sugar Nectarine Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Sausage Pancake Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Sourdough Brownie Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Zucchini Carrot Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

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