Sweet Melissa Sundays - Mom's Banana Apple Bread

Ok, so this is technically a Sunday post but due to a rather busy weekend I only got around to making the recipe last night - I shall do better next weekend, I promise!!

This is my first SMS posts which is rather exciting! And I'm really pleased to be involved in such a fun group. The idea is that a group of food bloggers all bake the same recipe (modifications allowed) from the 'Sweet Melissa' recipe book. This Sunday Joy from Hot Oven, Warm Heart chose Mom's Banana Apple Bread. Check out the other bakers on the blogroll!

I'm a huge fan of banana bread - not a huge fan of bananas, but when turned into a tea loaf they create a luscious, sweet, dense cakey bread. This was no exception. Not being in possession of a large loaf tin, I made a small loaf and 4 little cakes with my super cute individual springform cake tins. The loaf was exactly as per the recipe. In two of the small cakes, I threw in some sultanas...In the last two, I placed a layer of sliced caramelised apples on the bottom. Just for kicks. I'm that kinda gal. That, and who doesn't like a layer of caramelised apples?

I did love the plain loaf but felt I'd gone to so much extra effort caramelising the apples that leaving it plain was just a waste, so on the little plain cakes, I iced them with a simple cream cheese icing.

And that was good! Of all the modifications I messed around with, the addition of the icing was the best. It's actually the same icing I use on my go-to banana bread and so I guess it's no surprise that it worked like a charm on this one. And there's the only issue I have with this recipe - it's just too fiddly.

Banana breads for me are a quick bake - something I can whip up with some left over almost dead bananas, a cake that keeps well and goes perfectly with a cup of tea. This recipe called for dicing and caramelising apples which, whilst helping the texture, added a chunk of time onto the prep. So yes, this is undoubtedly delicious and I'm thinking of incorporating the spice mix into my banana bread recipe, but I'm still on the fence as to whether the frying of the apples is necessary... I might try it again but not actually cook the apples first - I'll keep you posted!

Rosy x