It’s bbq time!

It’s been a super hot weekend so far, summer has not fled just yet. I went to a bbq with friends and my contribution to the party was a batch of double banana blondies. I know these are always a pretty safe bet, ever since the original blondes that first made an appearance at a friend’s party way back last year. Since then I’ve also made this variation on the theme that was shared with my work colleagues….always a winner!

So, here I have simply combined the two recipes, and as such I felt it was deserving of a recipe write up all of its own. But before I get onto that, back to the bbq. There was so much food…food that I could actually eat and not once did I feel limited for choice or like an awkward guest. The guests brought home-cooked dishes and there was food from so many non-eurpopean cultures where the classic dairy infused dishes is not so much the norm that I was a very happy girl!  

My favourite dish was the chickpeas (I assume a form of chana masala?)  I asked the host for the recipe so hopefully I’ll have this up on my blog before long. Also to my delight, fresh bbq’d corn on the corn and sweetly charred plantain slices…..Mmmmm.

On a random note..this made my laugh and so i had to photograph it! Ever thought of growing your herbs in an old bathroom suite? This is a dramatic case of Upcycling if ever I saw one!

With all that food, I barely had room for cake (although to be honest I’d had enough tastings of the batter prior to cooking I didn’t fancy any more….shhhh!) In case you are wondering, the blondies were a great success, disappearing within a couple of minutes, and nobody could guess the secret ingredient! Beans in cakes- it’s always a fun discussion point, I love to make people think twice, to realise that there are ways of going beyond the norm and simply doing things a little differently. By the time the cakes came out it was too dark for my camera so you'll have to make do with these shots I took just before I left home.

Double banana blondies

Makes 16 squares

Ingredients

1 cup cooked chickpeas

¼ cup soy yoghurt

¼ cup soy milk

1/3 cup coconut butter

1 cup GF flour (I used 1/3 cup each of almond meal, buckwheat flour, tapioca flour)

1 banana mashed

1/3 cup agave plus ½ tsp stevia

2 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

A pinch salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

1 banana cut into chunks- for the top

Method

Blend wet ingredients in food processor until very smooth. Pour into a bowl, add dry ingredients (except choc chips and banana chunks) and stir together until well mixed. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spoon mixture into a parchment lined 8x8 baking tin and smooth top. Press the banana chunks lightly into the surface. Bake in oven at 180C for approx. 15 mins. Check with a toothpick and remove when just cooked. Allow to cool fully before slicing into squares.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.