There’s a certain rivalry that can occur when a child is born; especially the first child. The question was raised early; which parent will he take after – his father or his mother? The question asker was of course referring to our respective hobbies. Will he be like his father, and be obsessed with anything that flies, or like his mother and love to bake?
The answer is already crystal clear; at 11 months our son is totally obsessed with planes. It’s his first word every morning and his last word at night. Hubby has been tasked with making several duplicate balsa wood gliders, so that when one is broken there will still be another available to play with. They are stored on the top of the hallway cupboard.
In the absence of these though (or when Mummy won’t get them down), his imagination kicks in, and anything will do. The other week it was a zucchini… “whoosh” or perhaps some Duplo, a peg, anything really. We live on a flight path, and he has learned to recognise the sound of Cessnas passing overhead. “Bee-ah!” he says, pointing upwards.
Obviously, an intervention has become necessary. So I’ve started bribing the lad with cake. Not really, but he asks for it now. With all the eloquence of baby babble and body language, he enquires after what I’m eating and then reaches for it with chubby hands. So I allow him a morsel or two. I think he may have inherited his daddy’s sweet tooth, as well.
Banana and white chocolate cakes
Like any good recipe, this one is infinitely tweak-able’, meaning that you can swap various ingredients in or out, depending on what you have on hand. So, because the boy is reaching for cake, I’ll be making this next time with wholemeal flour and chopped strawberries.
Makes 32
Ingredients
Wet mix
½ cup butter, softened
¼ cup raw caster sugar (if you have it)
1 egg
1 ½ cups mashed bananas (about three medium over-ripe bananas)
½ cup white chocolate chips
Dry Mix
1 ½ cups self-raising flour*
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon baking soda
Method
Preheat the oven to 190degC (375degF). Line 24 mini-muffin holes with patty pans or grease liberally with cooking spray.
Blend together softened butter and sugar and then mix in the egg and banana. Combine the dry ingredients and then mix these into the wet ingredients.
Place spoonfuls into the muffin tins and bake for 12-15 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Repeat with the remaining batter.
*Self-raising flour can be made with 1 cup all-purpose flour + 2 teaspoons of baking powder.
Adapted from Banana and choc chip muffins
Looks great! Sam was looking at the photo of Theo holding the zucchini and kept saying “Me eat it”. He is currently eating a cucumber.
Hi Jenny, glad the boys approved! Hello, Sam you cutie! Go the healthy snacks! 😉