Stressed Backwards Is Desserts

If you’ve been keeping up with my blog, you know I’ve been stressing about Gerrit’s 4 month sleep regression. Much more so than I probably should be. But one day last week, I decided I needed a distraction. Baking!

Well, there really isn’t any bakeware here in TLF, so I had to figure out what I could make with the one pan we bought: a 9×9 square baking pan. This was made easier when I noticed I had two really yucky looking bananas on the counter (oops). I have a recipe for Strawberry Banana Bread that uses a 9×13 pan, but I figured I could cut it in half. So here’s the recipe that I made:

Strawberry Banana Bread

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 9

Ingredients:

1/2 c. vegetable oil
1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. ground cinnamon
1-1/2 t. baking powder*
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. kosher salt
2 large eggs
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1/2 T. pure vanilla extract
2 large ripe bananas
1/2 lb. strawberries
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 T. fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil and flour a 9- by 13-inch casserole dish. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt.

2. In a medium bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add granulated sugar, oil, and vanilla and whisk to combine. Mash bananas (you should get about 1 cup) and stir into egg mixture. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and mix just until incorporated. Fold in strawberries.

3. Transfer batter to prepared dish and bake until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for 5 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Spread icing over warm cake, then let cool completely.

* I accidentally bought baking powder instead of baking soda. After some research, I discovered you could replace baking soda with 2-3x the amount in baking powder. Good to know!

Quick and easy (even with a baby to entertain!), very yummy, and good for breakfast, a snack, or dessert! I love the bits of strawberry and hint-of-lemon glaze that brighten up an already delicious food. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!