Banana Chips aka Kerepek Pisang

It's already the end of the month. This means that it is almost the end of the LTU event which I'm hosting. So my last entry for the event is about my attempt at making the addictive Banana Chips, also known as Kerepek Pisang.

Kerepek pisang brings back memories of my younger days... To supplement the family income, my parents made kerepek pisang at home & supply it to shops & snack stalls at the market. My mum would use a huge kuali into which bottles of oil were poured. She would fry the chips while my father & I helped to pack them. Now, my mum still fries the chips but only for home consumption. 

My family loves snacking on kerepek pisang but we usually just buy the ready made ones since it's so widely available in shops & markets.  Last week's attempt was really my first time frying the chips myself. I wanted to use pisang tanduk but since I could not find any green ones, I decided to use pisang kepok/nipah instead. I think pisang tanduk  tastes so much better.

Update (5 April 2015):
I managed to find some green pisang tanduk on Friday. Below is a shot of the pisang tanduk chips. Not only do the bright yellow chips look prettier but also taste better! 

Banana Chips a.k.a. Kerepek Pisang

Ingredients:
bananas (young & green)
salt
water
vegetable oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Peel the bananas. Set aside.
2. Mix salt & water. Set aside.
3. Heat up the oil in a deep frying pan or kuali.
4. Using a handheld vegetable slicer, slice bananas directly into the hot oil.
5. Sprinkle a few tsps of salt solution onto the sliced bananas.
6. Fry until crispy.
7. Leave to cool completely. Then store in an airtight container.

Notes:

1. I've not included the amount for the ingredients used as I think you can just estimate it.
2. I used pisang kepok/nipah. You may also use pisang tanduk, another preferred type of banana when making banana chips. I prefer the taste of pisang tanduk.
3. The amount of salt & water needed will depend on your preference & the amount of bananas.

I'm linking this post to the Little Thumbs Up (March-2015 - BANANA) event organised by Zoe (Bake for Happy Kids) and Mui Mui (My Little Favourite DIY) and hosted by me, Faeez of BitterSweetSpicy.

Pandan Banana Chiffon Cake

I've baked banana chiffon cake a couple of times using a recipe on the net but my attempts were not very successful. I planned to bake one using a different recipe this month for the LTU (Banana) event. So when I saw Evelyn of My Baking Workshop posted her marbled Pandan Banana Chiffon Cake recently, I felt like baking it myself immediately! I managed to bake it a few days later, not until I adjusted the recipe to fit a smaller chiffon pan, the biggest that I have. 

I was quite anxious as to how my cake would turn out this time. It rose to only about 3/4 of the pan after 45 minutes.  That made me worried, so much so, I did not wait for the cake to cool down completely before slicing it. I was very relieved the cake turned out spongy & moist. The banana flavour was just nice, not overwhelming. However, I found the pandan flavour a little too faint even though I used concentrated pandan juice. I suppose I still need to add a little pandan extract as adding more pandan juice may affect the texture of the cake. Overall, this is a very good recipe and my family & I love it  a lot! I think I'm going to bake it again soon. Hehe...

Pandan Banana Chiffon Cake
Ingredients:

5 egg yolks
85g icing sugar, sifted
1/4 tsp salt
90g fresh milk
100g corn oil (I used canola.)
175g self-raising flour

75g banana, mashed (1 large banana.)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tbsp concentrated pandan juice (or 3/4 tsp pandan paste plus 6g fresh milk)
a few drops of green colouring

5 egg whites
90g caster sugar
1/8 tsp cream of tartar (I didn't use.)

Method:

1. Preheat oven at 170 deg C. Prepare a 10-inch chiffon pan. Do NOT grease or line the pan.
2. Combine egg yolks, icing sugar & salt in a bowl. Beat until well combined (I used a hand whisk.). Add in milk & oil. Mix until well blended. Fold in flour & mix well. Divide the batter into 2 equal parts in separate bowls.
3. Add in mashed banana & vanilla extract into 1 part of the above batter. Add pandan juice & colouring into another. Set aside.
4. In a dry & clean bowl, beat egg whites & cream of tartar until bubbles appear. Add in sugar bit by bit & beat  until stiff peak. Divide the meringue into 2 equal parts.
5. Fold in 1 part of meringue into the banana batter & the other part into the pandan batter. Fold in the meringue in thirds.
6. Pour half of the banana batter into the pan, followed by half of the pandan batter. Then pour the rest of the banana batter, followed by the rest of the pandan batter. Bake for about 45 minutes. Adjust your oven accordingly as every oven is different.
7. Once cooked, remove from oven & immediately invert pan until completely cool. To remove cake, run a spatula or knife around the side & bottom of pan. Slice using a serrated knife.

Adapted from My Baking Workshop.

Notes & modifications:

1. I adjusted the recipe to a 5-egg recipe instead of using 8 eggs as per the original recipe.
2. I used a 10-inch chiffon pan & the cake rose to about 3/4 of it. You may use a smaller pan for a taller cake, perhaps an 8-inch pan.
3. If you are using pandan juice, I would advise you to also add a bit (1/4 tsp, perhaps) of pandan extract for stronger pandan flavour.

I'm linking this post to the Little Thumbs Up (March-2015 - BANANA) event organised by Zoe (Bake for Happy Kids) and Mui Mui (My Little Favourite DIY) and hosted by me, Faeez of BitterSweetSpicy.

Banana Scones

I made these light & tender banana scones this afternoon. The bits of chopped banana & chocolate chips are great additions to the lightly-sweetened scones. A great recipe if you are thinking of something simple yet delightful.

Banana Scones

Ingredients:
1 cup self-raising flour
1 1⁄2 tablespoons brown sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
3 tablespoons butter, cold (I used 45g.)
4 tablespoons low-fat milk (or light cream)
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1⁄3 cup banana, diced (about half a medium banana)

1/4 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon powder. Cut butter into a few chunks and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips.
3. Mix milk and vanilla in a small glass. Pour about 4 tablespoons into the flour mixture and stir until the mixture starts to come together. Add the banana chunks and chocolate chips. Continue to stir, adding more milk if necessary, just until dough comes together. Do not over mix.
4. Pat dough into a disk about 1inch thick. Cut using a cookie cutter and place each piece on baking sheet. Brush the top with some milk (optional).
5. Bake for 17-20 minutes, until light gold.
6. Cool on wire rack or eat warm. These scones are best the day they are made.

Yields 8 pieces.
Adapted from swirlycinnacakes @ food.com.

Notes & modifications:

1. The original recipe uses all-purpose flour plus 1 tsp baking powder.
2. I used cinnamon powder instead of ginger powder as stated in the original recipe.
3. I added the chocolate chips.
4. You can also cut the patted dough into four sections with a knife instead of using a cookie cutter.

I'm linking this post to the Little Thumbs Up (March-2015 - BANANA) event organised by Zoe (Bake for Happy Kids) and Mui Mui (My Little Favourite DIY) and hosted by me, Faeez of BitterSweetSpicy.