Healthy Banana Cake

Well you guys know that I love a good banana based treat. Somehow they always end up sitting in the fruit bowl looking sad. However, nowadays I've been trying to veer towards a healthier lifestyle. So I've created a version of my favourite banana bread with less fat and sugar. 

I replaced regular flour with buckwheat. This is a great gluten-free alternative and apparently it's good for digestion - yay! I've also used coconut oil and peanut butter to replace some of the butter and maple syrup to replace the sugar.

Now this cake is not 100% guilt free - there's still a small amount of dark muscavado sugar, and also some Bertolli margarine. But it's definitely better than your standard banana bread.

I sort of made this up as I went along, but it turned out really well and was very happy with the end result. 

The main ingredients you'll need for this cake

Ingredients 

250g Buckwheat Flour

1 Tsp Baking Powder

2 Tbsp Muscavado Sugar

50g Margarine 

50g Coconut Oil (and a little extra to grease the tin)

2 Eggs

30g Peanut Butter

4 Overripe Bananas

4 Tbsp Maple Syrup

50g Almond Flakes (Or whatever nuts you have in the cupboard)

1. Place the buckwheat flour, baking powder and muscavado sugar into a bowl. Give it a quick stir to make sure there aren't any lumps. Then add the margarine and coconut oil. Again give it a mix (only roughly, it won't combine at this point. 

2. Add the peanut butter, mixing again and then the eggs. Give it all a good mix in either a kitchen aid or an electric whisk until it's fully combined.

3. In a separate bowl mash the bananas and the maple syrup together. Then add these to the batter by folding it in. Finally add the almonds (or any other nut alternatives) and dried fruit if you wish, I added some dates here to give that little extra sweetness.

4. Place in a greased tin and bake at 150c for around 45 mins, or until a shard knife comes out almost clean.

5. Wait for it to cool on a wire rack, and then enjoy with a cup of tea. Nomnom!

Boyhood

Hello again... Long time no see. 

So I've had a little break (yes, yes a whole YEAR!) 

But baby I'm back and I thought I would start with a little re-invention. As some of you may know, I have two passions in life. Film and baking. So from now on this blog will no longer be purely baking, but I will add a sprinkle of film reviews with a pinch of lifestyle. So henceforth welcome to Shmonn Bakes, my spruced up baking/ film/ culture/ lifestyle blog. Woop!

So now I've cleared that one up... let get on with the film review.

Flying Solo a-la Carrie in Paris

Yesterday I pulled a Carrie Bradshaw and went to see a film solo. Yeah I know, what a loser, but actually it was such a good experience. It's like reading a book, you know that feeling, like what you're reading is your own personal experience. Well it's the same going to the movies alone. You feel fully immersed in the experience. 

On my first 'lone-wolf' film excursion I went to see Boyhood. I'd seen a trailer for this one a couple of months ago and loved the concept. 

For those of you in the dark, the film follows the growing up of one boy, Mason. From the age of 5 to 18. The key thing is, however, that they use the same actor for each stage of his life. So on screen you see young Mason growing up before your eyes. 

The cast, including Ethan Hawke (who also starred in the director, Richard Linklater's Before series), Patricia Arquette, Lorelei Linklater (Linklater's own daughter) and Ellar Coltrane as Mason, gathered together to shoot the film every year for 12 years.

Ethan Hawke, Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette and Richard Linklater

This is what makes the film so magical. 

In the first part of the story, you make a connection with little Mason, a connection that the viewer doesn't have to re-assign whenever a new actor comes on screen. 

It's little things, like the look he gives his mum when he sees her flirting with a man, or that you see his 'puppy fat' stage only to have disappeared in the next scene. 

Mason going through that 'experimental hair' stage

The story appeals to everyone on different levels, whether you've had kids or not, everyone has grown up, thus making the film truly relatable.

So I would say, if you're flying solo (like me... no no this is not a cry for sympathy) or not, I would totally recommend going to see this heartfelt film, you won't regret it.