Ooh. I’m feeling unpleasantly overwhelmed. I got my new computer so that’s brill but I don’t know if it’s just me but I always assume I will never adapt to anything new. I had come to terms with the way my old computer did things. The way the photo software worked. The shortcuts I knew.

Now everything has changed.

I love my new laptop, it’s so very pretty indeed, but it’s unnervingly new and confusing.

I’m sure I’ll figure it out.

I’ve been doing a huge amount of baking over the last while. I made fudge last light. Didn’t quite work. It’s hasn’t set properly but does taste comforting. I made another tiramisu. I forgot how weird the eggs and caster sugar look at the start. Also, about that tiramisu, I used fancy ingredients from a proper specifically lovely food, food shop and the difference in the result is astonishing. The mix was much thicker and a good bit fluffier. I made mince pies just now. They do make a house smell christmassy.

But the main thing I’ve been messing with is the new Christmas dessert. I’ve seen a ton of buche de Noel on facebook. I thought I’d have a go. Not sure if it’s worked out. I got Dad to cut a sewerage pipe in half for my mold. Such glorious beginnings. Then I lined it with baking parchment and coated the inside with dark chocolate. So far so good (ish). Whipped up some chestnut icecream a la Nigella and filled the chocolated mold with it, hollowing out a channel in the middle ready for an orange jelly.

That’s where it started to go wrong. The jelly hasn’t worked so I’m going to have to adapt my half-thought through plans.

I’ll let you know how it goes. For now I shall give you a recipe for banana bread. I made some for the top tier of the birthday cake I made for Da. I may have forgotten to take any photos so look at the top tier in the photos and imagine it without the praline, the ganache or the buttercream. That’s what it looks like.

The recipe is adapted from Angela Nilsen’s Ultimate Recipe Book. You should buy it for someone this Christmas.

Oven temperature 180 Celsius

Ripe bananas                 3

Zest of 1/2 a lemon

Plain flour                       225g

Baking powder              1 teaspoon

Bicarbonate of soda     1/2 teaspoon

Butter (soft)                    115g

Light muscavado           140g

Eggs                                   2

Sour cream                      4 tablespoons

Preheat the oven and butter and flour a 1lb loaf tin or slightly bigger. 

In a medium bowl mash the bananas with the lemon zest.

In another bowl mix the flour, soda and baking powder.

In a final bowl beat the butter and sugar till well combined. Then beat in an egg. Then the other.

Scrape the mushed banana and sour cream into the eggy mix and stir some more. The mix will look horrible at this point. Lumpy and unappetizing.

Persevere.

Tip in the flour mix and gently fold everything together and then pour the ugly batter into the loaf tin and the whole lot into the oven.

It’ll take between 45mins to an hour and should be nicely risen and springy to the touch.

If you were wondering, the base of Da’s cake was the red velvet I made for my own birthday. The shards at the top are just un-blitzed praline.

I wish you all a calm and wonderful Christmas.