It’s official. I
have survived my first week of law school. There were tears and sleepless
nights and times when I very sincerely questioned both my intelligence and my
sanity, but I got through it in one piece.
So now, I am
allowing myself to take a step back, walk into my kitchen, and decompress.
Never have I been more grateful for the routine motions of measuring and
whisking and pouring. I honestly think I can say this with some authority…Cake
is comfort.
When I began to
think about what the most comforting baked good would be after the week I went
through, a phrase came to mind that I’ve heard many times but never really
understood: nursery dessert.
It’s a term I’ve
heard Ina Garten use when referring to iles flotttantes and panna cotta. I’ve
also come across it during my time researching children’s tea as an undergrad. The
expression always makes me think of warm milk, honey, and cinnamon; pigtails
and petticoats; crescent moons smiling benevolently; and twinkling stars
pirouetting through the night sky.
I’ve been told I
have a very active imagination, but it turns out my assumptions weren’t
entirely incorrect. Nursery desserts, it seems, were a practical tool in the
Victorian mother’s arsenal.
“…[I]f a simple
dessert will tempt a child to eat a sufficient meal it should undoubtedly be
given, as it may, with care, be made to contain a great proportion of the
nutriment required for each meal, and prove a valuable supplement to a child’s
menu,” wrote Louise E. Hogan in an article titled “Nursery Desserts” found in Babyhood:
The Mother’s Nursery Guide, Vol. 11.
Thus, Hogan
continues, fruit desserts like apples baked until soft and milk- and egg-laden
custards and puddings with the additions of rice and bread were staples.
According to Phebe
Wescott Humphreys’ article “Remedial Food and Drink” in Table
Talk, Vol. 27, nursery desserts
could also have medicinal value by the inclusion of nuts and fruits like figs
and prunes, as they aided digestion.
In present times,
however, the term “nursery dessert” seems to carry the same connotation for the
English that “comfort food” does for Americans, and refers to milk and bread puddings,
whether healthy or not.
Well, I took this
“comfort food” idea and ran with it, lumping in nostalgic back-to-school
feelings in the process, and came up with peanut butter banana bread.
Because peanut
butter + banana bread = delicious.
When you smear a
slice with jam, it’s like a hug from an angel and a good, long nap, which,
trust me, I needed after my first week of school.
A note about
smooth versus crunchy peanut butter…I say go with the crunchy. I tried the
recipe with both, and I think the crunchy peanut butter is so much better. It’s
kind of like the equivalent of adding walnuts to your banana bread, and adds
fabulous texture.
Peanut Butter Banana Bread (Yield: 2 9x5” loaves)
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1/2 c. crunchy peanut butter
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/4 c. milk
2 tbsp. plain yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla
3 bananas, mashed with a fork
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare two 9x5” loaf tins by greasing them with butter and dusting them with flour.
- In a small saucepot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Once melted, add the peanut butter and stir until smooth. Take the pot off the heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Set the dry ingredients aside. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until the mixture lightens and looks slightly fluffy and bubbly.
- While whisking the eggs and sugar gently, drizzle in the melted peanut butter. Mix in the yogurt, vanilla, and mashed bananas. Lastly, fold in the dry ingredients.
- Divide the batter evenly between the loaf tins and bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean. (Don’t over bake the banana bread—the bananas will keep it very moist, so the toothpick test can be a little misleading. If the toothpick is completely clean, the banana bread may turn out slightly dry.)
- Cool the banana bread in the pan for about 10 minutes, and then serve it warm or at room temperature. A slice of warm peanut butter banana bread smeared with your favorite jam and a glass of milk is the best thing ever.
