why cakes are so good
I've just got back from my day job in the hospital where I work with people who are struggling to lose weight.
Something that comes up time and time again in my sessions with patients is the link between food and strong emotions. It seems that using food as a form of comfort-" comfort eating"- is very common and over the years I have started to look at possible reasons for this. Because when you think about someone who is overweight and trying desperately to lose weight, you would think that eating sweet, rich and sugary food would be the least comforting thing they would choose to do.
However, when I think back to my childhood and the real sense of pleasure I felt coming through the kitchen door to be greeted by the smell of a freshly baked cake, or the delight I now have at being able to produce something delicious for people I love, I begin to understand how food can often be the symbolic way of offering and receiving love. Perhaps for some people it is the ONLY way they got to feel cared for or nurtured. Writing this, I am struck by how similar the words NUTRITION and NURTURE are . Perhaps I can invent a new word: NURTRITION by combining the two!
You have to admit that there is something REALLY special about a home made cake. My favourite type of cake tends to be what I can only describe as 'slabby', and I wouldn't give houseroom to a cake that is too fancy or with lots of cream. That's just my own preference but it would be interesting to hear what 'cake memories' exist in people's minds.
It's Thursday, and the bananas I bough last week are beginning to look and smell very ripe. What better way to use them than to make a wonderfully moist and relatively( I kid myself) healthy banana cake.
This following recipe is one I have been baking for about 20 years or more now and seems to work every time; last for ages wrapped in foil and tastes pretty damn good!
BANANA BREAD WITH WALNUTS( although if you don't have any-leave them out)
225g /80z plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
ground cinnamon ( as I like it, I use about 2 teaspoons, but it's up to you how little or how much you use)
110g/ 4oz butter
150g/5oz sugar( any sort-brown, white it doesn't matter and works with both
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas
50g/2oz chopped walnuts
HEAT THE OVEN TO 350degrees F/180 degrees C
YOU NEED TO GREASE A IKG/2LB LOAF TIN. I CUT A STRIP OF PAPER THE WIDTH OF THE BASE AND LINE THE TIN WITH THIS. I MAKE SURE I LEAVE A BIT HANGING OVER EACH END AS IT MAKES IT EASIER TO TAKE THE CAKE OUT THE TIN WHEN ITS COOKED.
BEAT THE BUTTER AND SUGAR UNTIL THEY ARE LIGHTER IN COLOUR THAN THEY WERE BEFORE. ADD THE EGGS AND BEAT AGAIN.
MASH UP THE BANANAS AND ADD THEM TO THE BUTTER AND EGG MIX.
THEN YOU NEED TO FOLD IN THE FLOUR, BAKING POWDER AND SPICE.
IF YOU'RE ADDING NUTS, DO IT NOW, OTHERWISE JUST POUR THE MIXTURE INTO THE TIN AND BAKE IT IN AN OVEN FOR AN HOUR.
THE TOP SHOULD LOOK GLOSSY, AND TO TEST IF ITS COOKED YOU CAN EITHER USE A SKEWER ( A BIT LIKE AN OIL DIP STICK). IF IT COMES OUT WITHOUT ANY STICKY BITS ON, IT'S DONE.
LEAVE IT TO COOL IN THE TINE FOR A WHILE, THEN, POUR YOURSELF A CUP OF SOMETHING, CUT YOURSELF A SLICE OF CAKE AND ENJOY.
Something that comes up time and time again in my sessions with patients is the link between food and strong emotions. It seems that using food as a form of comfort-" comfort eating"- is very common and over the years I have started to look at possible reasons for this. Because when you think about someone who is overweight and trying desperately to lose weight, you would think that eating sweet, rich and sugary food would be the least comforting thing they would choose to do.
However, when I think back to my childhood and the real sense of pleasure I felt coming through the kitchen door to be greeted by the smell of a freshly baked cake, or the delight I now have at being able to produce something delicious for people I love, I begin to understand how food can often be the symbolic way of offering and receiving love. Perhaps for some people it is the ONLY way they got to feel cared for or nurtured. Writing this, I am struck by how similar the words NUTRITION and NURTURE are . Perhaps I can invent a new word: NURTRITION by combining the two!
You have to admit that there is something REALLY special about a home made cake. My favourite type of cake tends to be what I can only describe as 'slabby', and I wouldn't give houseroom to a cake that is too fancy or with lots of cream. That's just my own preference but it would be interesting to hear what 'cake memories' exist in people's minds.
It's Thursday, and the bananas I bough last week are beginning to look and smell very ripe. What better way to use them than to make a wonderfully moist and relatively( I kid myself) healthy banana cake.
This following recipe is one I have been baking for about 20 years or more now and seems to work every time; last for ages wrapped in foil and tastes pretty damn good!
BANANA BREAD WITH WALNUTS( although if you don't have any-leave them out)
225g /80z plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
ground cinnamon ( as I like it, I use about 2 teaspoons, but it's up to you how little or how much you use)
110g/ 4oz butter
150g/5oz sugar( any sort-brown, white it doesn't matter and works with both
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas
50g/2oz chopped walnuts
HEAT THE OVEN TO 350degrees F/180 degrees C
YOU NEED TO GREASE A IKG/2LB LOAF TIN. I CUT A STRIP OF PAPER THE WIDTH OF THE BASE AND LINE THE TIN WITH THIS. I MAKE SURE I LEAVE A BIT HANGING OVER EACH END AS IT MAKES IT EASIER TO TAKE THE CAKE OUT THE TIN WHEN ITS COOKED.
BEAT THE BUTTER AND SUGAR UNTIL THEY ARE LIGHTER IN COLOUR THAN THEY WERE BEFORE. ADD THE EGGS AND BEAT AGAIN.
MASH UP THE BANANAS AND ADD THEM TO THE BUTTER AND EGG MIX.
THEN YOU NEED TO FOLD IN THE FLOUR, BAKING POWDER AND SPICE.
IF YOU'RE ADDING NUTS, DO IT NOW, OTHERWISE JUST POUR THE MIXTURE INTO THE TIN AND BAKE IT IN AN OVEN FOR AN HOUR.
THE TOP SHOULD LOOK GLOSSY, AND TO TEST IF ITS COOKED YOU CAN EITHER USE A SKEWER ( A BIT LIKE AN OIL DIP STICK). IF IT COMES OUT WITHOUT ANY STICKY BITS ON, IT'S DONE.
LEAVE IT TO COOL IN THE TINE FOR A WHILE, THEN, POUR YOURSELF A CUP OF SOMETHING, CUT YOURSELF A SLICE OF CAKE AND ENJOY.
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