Chai Masala Spiced Banana Loaf with Orange Whipped Cream

Being a food blogger for these many years now, I have tried and tested so many recipes that I’ve lost count. Only a small part of those trials turn to success and then even lesser number make their way here. Many times a recipe is a success but then for some reason they stay in drafts, I forget about them and even though they are some of my favorite recipes they still do not see the daylight. This is one such post.

The the other day while cleaning up my computer I bump into it like a long lost friend. Buried deep under a pile of half tested and failed recipes, this gem was hiding for almost 5 or so years. I must have just started Indian Simmer at the time. It must be new for I write about being a new mom, to the butterfly. With a recipe jotted down hurriedly, a small note about how I came up with it and a poorly taken photo attached to it. A photo I believe was taken with my point and shoot camera because that’s what I used back then when I had started Indian Simmer as a secret hideout spot for my stories and recipes. A secret hideout because I knew no one visits here and no one reads what I write here. Little did I know!

Finding this hidden post was like finding a page to your old diary. It was fascinating, heart warming and nostalgic. All the imperfections made me cringe, chuckle and sigh at the same time. I thought keeping this post and recipe in drafts is such a waste so decided it should see the daylight. So I retested the recipe which I believe was very regularly used 6 years back. And as I promised 6 years back, it still came out perfectly. Only this time the person who took the first bite out of this loaf of bread was the butterfly herself. The baby who was breast feeding when I first developed this recipe. Funny, isn’t it? And cruel too, because she’s growing so fast! We enjoyed this Chai Masala Spiced Banana Loaf which I paired with organic CA milk with a dollop of orange whipped cream.

Anyway, here’s the post which was written on a chilly winter evening in 2010. I cheated a little and replaced the photo of a delicious but sad looking bread, taken in yellow light with my point n shoot back then, with some brighter ones. Hope you enjoy!

Being a breast feeding mom I’m hungry almost all the time. When I am hungry I need something to fill my belly real quick. Its best if it just comes out of the refrigerator and goes straight into my mouth, because there’s a baby who is pretty much attached to my hip all the time! So quick is always good. A couple bananas were sitting in my fruit basket since days. Being a bad fruit eater I had to make it a bit exciting so I thought why notmake a coffee cake out of it. Now this recipe is a favorite because it doesn’t use a ton of butter. Rather it uses no butter at all. Instead it has yogurt and olive olive and also coconut palm sugar to replace white sugar. All these things go easy on this new mom’s growing waist! And the addition of my favorite chai masala makes this recipe a winner.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup coconut palm sugar
2 tbsp honey
2/3 cups milk
1/2 cups yogurt
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp olive oil
2 very ripe bananas
1 teaspoon chai masala powder

Methods:

Preheat the oven at 350° F.
With mixer on medium, beat eggs for about 1 min and then add sugar and all the liquids into it. Keep beating until sugar dissolves well and the mixture gets light.
Now add sifted dry ingredients into the liquid ones and mix well with mixer on medium.
Add yogurt to the mixture while still mixing it.
Fold in mashed bananas and chai masala into the mixture.
Pour the batter into a buttered and lined loaf pan. Place the pan into the oven and bake it for 40 mins or until the testing knife comes out clean.
Take it out of the oven and allow it to cool before pulling out of the loaf pan.

It works great with some orange whipped cream and a glass of cold milk or hot coffee.

Ingredients for Orange Whipped Cream:

Zest of 1 orange

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Method:

In an electric mixer with whisk attachment, whip the ingredients together, on medium high until it forms soft peak.

This post was brought to you by got milk? Food Loves Milk. The ideas and opinions expressed here are all mine.