A Bundt in the Oven

Banana Bread Bundt Cake

How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking

by Nigella Lawson

It's been over a month since my last blog entry and I'm sad that I'll have one post for the month of April, just as I had in March. But on this last day of April, there is much to rejoice.

Today, I start my second trimester and thankfully, I have not had any major problems in this first pregnancy. No nausea or morning sickness. No food aversions or weird cravings. Although, my emotions tend to take over if I'm hungry and waiting for food.

I've traded my clothes in for more elastic and have had a wonderful shopping spree at Century City's, A Pea in the Pod. Well, not so wonderful according to my purse!

My feet (along with my growing belly and other areas) feel swollen most days, but my family and MS keep me laughing through all these bodily changes.

My mom friends give me much needed advice, and I'm waiting for the day that I can eat a bit of Sasabune again. I hear that I have another few months before I should eat a bit of sashimi, although my grandmother swears that all Japanese people eat sashimi in Japan - even during pregnancy. To me, it seems valid but I typically practice the - "better to be safe than sorry" maxim. Especially since I'm considered "high risk" because of my thyroid disease.

If I haven't shared on this blog, I have hyperthyroidism - which may explain my huge appetite for food over the years. But because of it, I have to take a number of pills every day and monitor my blood every month. So far, so good and I count my blessings. We pray that all will be OK with me, our growing baby, and life as we know it.

In the meanwhile, we have shared the good news with our family and some of our friends. And we continue to look for and find good eats in the kitchen and in Los Angeles, including this moist and delicious banana bread recipe.

Ingredients:

+ 1/2 cup golden raisins

+ 6 Tbsp dark rum

+ 1 cup all-purpose flour

+ 2 Tbsp cocoa powder

+ 2 tsp baking powder

+ 1/2 tsp baking soda

+ 1/2 tsp salt

+ 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter

+ 1/2 cup sugar

+ 2 large eggs

+ 2 large ripe bananas

+ 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

+ 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

+ 1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

1. Boil rum and raisins together in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, cover, and leave for an hour to absorb the liquid and get plump. Then drain and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
3. In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients - flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt.
4. In a larger bowl, mix melted butter and sugar together. Beat in eggs one at a time, then the mashed bananas. Stir in the walnuts, drained raisins, vanilla extract and chocolate chips.
5. Grease a bundt pan or loaf pan and bake for about an hour, depending on the size of the pan. Toothpick should come out clean when finished.