[Sca-cooks] Banana Bread-Vietnamese Banana Cake

[Daniel & Elizabeth Phelps]

Yummy yummy yummy! Does this qualify as food porn?? (;-) Here in Florida, we 
can find fresh grated unsweetened coconut in the frozen foods section. Not 
terribly expensive, as I recall. Haven't checked the local Asian markets, 
but we probably will now!
Cheers,
Isabella

Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.
Frank Zappa

To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like 
administering medicine to the dead.
Thomas Paine
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lilinah" <lilinah at earthlink.net>
To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2008 1:42 PM
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Banana Bread


> Christianna wrote;
>>I am in need of a banana bread recipe (period or not period).  While I'm 
>>sure
>>that Africa and so forth had bananas of a sort, I don't know if they made
>>bread from them.  However, I have three bananas that would be perfect
>>for this endeavor.  I can check my church cookbooks and such but I know
>>this list will have the perfect recipe.
>
> No period recipes for banana bread, although bananas show up on
> Persian-influenced Arabic-language recipes.
>
> However, here's my modern favorite, from Vietnam, fancy version
> first, simpler version second.
>
> Fancy Vietnamese Banana Cake
> This is amazing with the nearly whole bananas residing within the
> luscious tropical cake, there are so many contrasts in texture.
> Mmm-mmm.
>
> 3 eggs
> 1 cup sugar
> 3/4 cup whipping cream
> - or - very rich coconut milk
> 1-1/2 cups flour (not sifted)
> 4 lb. bananas, very ripe
> 3/4 cup coarsely chopped cashews
> 1 cup shredded fresh coconut
>
> 2 8-inch cake pans
> butter or oil (peanut is good)
> flour
>
> Preheat oven to 350 F.
>
> Into a mixing bowl break eggs and add sugar.
> Mix on low speed to blend thoroughly.
> Then set speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes (do not use high
> speed as it negatively effects texture).
> Pour cream or coconut milk into batter and beat a few seconds to mix,
> do not beat too long.
> Sift the 1-1/2 cups flour after measuring.
> Dump flour into mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until just
> mixed, about 30 seconds.
>
> Peel bananas and smash them with the flat side of a heavy knife, just
> one good smack, do not chop or mash.
> Add to batter without stirring.
> Add cashews.
> Add shredded coconut (if using sweetened dried coconut, reduce sugar a 
> bit).
> (I used rather wide grated dried coconut in the fancy cake - it's
> better if it is soaked in barely enough hot water to cover for about
> 15 minutes or more before putting it into the cake.)
> Stir just to blend.
>
> Butter or oil sides and bottom of cake pans, put in a handful of
> flour and shake well to coat sides and bottom of pan, then pour out
> excess flour.
>
> Pour batter into cake pans.
> Put into oven on center rack.
> Bake 350 F. until golden brown, about 55 minutes to 1 hour.
>
> This is sort of soft inside - the author called it "pudding like",
> although i wouldn't go that far.
>
> -----
> Vietnamese Banana Cake
>
> 2 lb bananas, very ripe
> 1/2 cup heavy cream
> 1 cup milk
> - or -
> 1 cup rich coconut milk (not the water inside a coconut)
> 1 cup flour, sifted
> 1/2 cup sugar
> pinch salt
>
> 9" cake pan
> butter or oil (peanut is good)
> flour
>
> Preheat oven to 350 F.
>
> Peel bananas and smash them with the flat side of a heavy knife, just
> one good smack, do not chop or mash.
> Put into mixing bowl
> Add cream and milk or coconut milk, flour, sugar, and salt and mix 
> thoroughly
> (coconut milk is more authentic)
>
> Butter or oil sides and bottom of cake pan, put in a handful of flour
> and shake well to coat sides and bottom of pan, then pour out excess
> flour.
>
> Pour batter in.
> Bake 350 F. until golden brown, about 55 minutes to 1 hour.
>
> ---
> These recipes are from "Vietnamese Cookery" by Jill Nhu Huong Miller,
> Charles E. Tuttle & Co., 1968, ISBN 0-8048-1200-4
>
> ---
> Coconut milk is NOT the water inside a coconut. Coconut milk is made
> by grating the meat of a ripe coconut, soaking it in hot water, then
> draining and saving the liquid, then putting the meat in a cloth and
> wringing and squeezing to get the "cream" out.
>
> "Vietnamese Cookery" says to use the meat of one medium-size fresh
> coconut to 2 cups warm water, putting it in a blender - 1 min. on low
> and then 2 to 3 min. on high, before straining and wringing.
>
> It's been a while since i've made any (not a lot of call for it in
> surviving Medieval cookbooks, except the Indian ones), but IIRC, i
> use about 1 cup dried to 2 cups water. With dried coconut, soak the
> meat in hot water for at least 15 minutes before making the milk.
>
> The first batch will be the richest. The coconut meat can be used for
> a second much lighter batch, if you cook a fair amount of Asian food.
>
> I never use sweetened coconut - besides the commonly available
> packages have other additives to keep the dried coconut "soft". But
> if all you can find is the bad stuff in the stupor market, try to use
> *un*sweetened.
>
> Specialty stores - Asian markets, health food stores, "fancy" food
> stores - are likely to have dried coconut without all the additives.
> As i said, my personal preference is for the wide kind, but if all
> you can find is finely shredded, that will work fine (although the
> texture won't be as "interesting" in the cake)
> --
> Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
> the persona formerly known as Anahita
>
> My LibraryThing
> http://www.librarything.com/catalog/lilinah
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