etcetera ... fabulous Fridays

I work 4 days a week so when Fridays come around, I try to do something special.  Now that may mean catching up with a friend, going to a movie or sampling some of the cafes that keep on opening up in Auckland.  It seems that every week there is a new café or restaurant, or two or three, on the scene.  How do they all survive?

Last Friday, although strictly speaking it was last week’s Friday, not yesterday (confused?), I had such a lovely day where everything turned out just the way I’d want.

First up I headed for coffee and cake at L’Oeuf in Mt Albert.  I must be one of the few who haven’t had un oeuf at L’Oeuf (an egg for those without the benefit of my school taught French), mainly because I seldom go out for breakfast or brunch – I will have had my breakfast early and by mid-morning I am more than ready for a coffee, especially after a drive into the city.  Anyhow, in my book, cake and coffee go so much better than eggs and coffee (just saying…). 

Do you ever get that anxious feeling when you step inside somewhere new?  I do, but at L’Oeuf I was instantly made to feel genuinely welcome by the waitstaff. So much so that after all their warm attention I practically skipped out the door.  Great service, guys. 

I chose this delicious pear and cardamom cake, along with a latte.  The waitress placed them in front of me and explained they had a new barista so if anything was not up to scratch I was to let them know (it was all perfect).  Later she came by to check and to have a little chat.

Now the really annoying thing is that I used to live close to this cafe and now I don’t.  I sat there wishing L’Oeuf had been around then.  C’est la vie.

Moving on and a short drive to the Capitol Cinema to see Wadjda.  This is a little gem of a movie about a spirited young girl (played so captivatingly by Waad Mohammed that it’s almost like watching a documentary) who comes up with some ingenuous ways to save money for a bike she covets.  As we follow her daily life and attendance at a strict religious school, the film gently illustrates the restrictions of women and children in Saudi Arabia. Directed by a female Saudi Arabian, the movie explores the issues simply and effectively and in a way that leaves you with hope.  My feminist hackles rose several times but I was heartened a few days later hearing a radio movie reviewer say that since the film’s release, bicycle areas had been introduced in Saudi Arabia for young girls to use (one of the problems Wadjda faced was that it wasn’t seemly for girls to ride bikes in public).

The last thing to put a smile on my face before leaving the city behind was missing all the normal Friday afternoon traffic and cruising home with no delays.  Bliss.

Chocolate Banana Loaf

All I have to do is tell you that I made this chocolate banana loaf and it was easy and it is delicious and the chocolate definitely is an improvement on just a plain, old banana loaf, especially if you really like chocolate, which I do and if you are only mildly passionate about banana cakes, which I am.

And I have to remember to tell you to make all the icing and not be like me one time when I wrote a strange note on this recipe telling me that half the icing was more than enough.  I lied.  I don’t know why I lied back then as I haven’t made this loaf in a while.  So I made half the icing because I believed what I said back then.  I was wrong.

All you need to know then is that you really, really should slather it with the all the chocolate icing because if you are anything like me, you know that this is the best part and if you don’t, you will regret it.

That was all I had to say.

The loaf is my entry for this month's Sweet New Zealand hosted by After Taste.

Chocolate Banana Loaf

150g (5½oz) butter, at room temperature

150g (5½oz) muscovado sugar

150g (5½oz) dark chocolate (I used 72% Whittakers Dark Ghana)

2 bananas, mashed

3 eggs, beaten

200g (7oz) plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

Icing

100g (3½oz) dark chocolate, broken into pieces

25g (1oz) butter

50g (1¾oz) icing sugar

1 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F).

Grease and line the base and sides of a 900g (2lb) loaf tin.

In a medium saucepan, gently heat the butter, sugar and chocolate until melted.  Stir well and remove from heat.

Add the banana and eggs, then sift in the flour and baking powder.  Mix until smooth.

Pour the mix into the loaf tin.   Bake for about 1 hour or so until the cake feels firm when pressed in the middle with your fingers.

Remove from the oven and leave in the tin for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Icing

Melt the chocolate and butter in a small non-stick pan.  Sift in the icing sugar then stir in the milk and beat well.  Spread over the top of the cake using a palette knife.  Leave to set.

Cranberry, vanilla and yogurt loaf

I was having a sloth-like morning.  Everything I touched turned to “no”.  Didn’t feel like going out, didn’t feel like baking.  Three times I started gathering ingredients for recipes and three times I put them away.  Most unproductive.  I loathe using the phrase “I can’t be bothered”, but that’s how I felt.

Later in the afternoon the apathy lifted and a sudden burst of energy resulted in this lovely loaf which wasn’t even in the running earlier.  It does have the air of a “cheer me now” cake so perhaps it was just what I needed.  Each slice has little bursts of cranberries and a taste and texture reminiscent of a madeira cake.  The icing could be optional but I urge you to spread it on.  It adds a crunch, a tang, a touch of sweetness and just makes it look way more special than an ordinary fruit loaf. 

This little happy cake is my entry to Sweet New Zealand hosted this month by the delightful Sue at Couscous & Consciousness.  

Cranberry, vanilla and yogurt loaf

100g butter

100g caster sugar

300g Greek-style (or natural) yogurt

2 teaspoons vanilla essence

250g standard flour

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

150g dried cranberries

for the icing

100g icing sugar, sifted

1-2 tbsp fresh orange juice, sieved

pink food colouring

Preheat oven to 160°C (180°F)

Grease and line a 1kg (2lb) loaf tin. 

Cream the butter and sugar in a cake mixer until soft and fluffy (you will need to scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times in the process). 

Add the yogurt and vanilla and mix on lowest speed until just combined.

Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda together and fold gently into the mix in two batches.  Add the cranberries and fold in gently (check the cranberries do not stick together in bunches).  Do not overmix.

Spoon the mix into the loaf tin.  Level the top with a palette knife dipped in a little hot water. 

Bake in the oven for approximately 50 minutes or until the loaf is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Leave the cake in the tin to cool completely, then ice.

For the icing

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add enough orange juice to make a smooth consistency, not too runny or too thick.  (Add more icing sugar if too runny or more orange juice if too thick).  Add a drop of food colouring.  I use a skewer for this and dip it into the colouring, adding enough to reach the desired colour.  Mix thoroughly until smooth and colouring incorporated.  Spread or drizzle over the cake and leave to set.

Adapted from a recipe for sour cherry yogurt cake from Gorgeous Cakes by Annie Bell.