Banana & Mulberry Bread

In the reserve near our house there is a beautiful old mulberry tree.

It has been in full fruit for weeks, and we have been enjoying picking and eating the sweet, ripe

berries.

I have started freezing some of them now, and want to have a try at making some mulberry jam at some point.

I found a recipe for Banana & Raspberry bread (what did we do before google!?!?!) and substituted the raspberries for Mulberries. It was absolutly delicious and I will definately be baking it (and trying out some variations of it) again. Next time I will make a two though - this one was just about finished one the boys returned from school and kindy yesterday!

For those that dont want to follow the link (and for me so I have the recipe easily accesable when I forget to stick the print out in my cookbook) I will give you my adaption of it here (original from recipelover.com.au)

Banana & Mulberry Bread

Ingredients
150g butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 bananas)
2 cups self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup mulberries

Directions
Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a 7cm deep, 11cm x 21cm (base) loaf pan with baking paper, allowing overhang (it rose quite a bit above the sides of the tin, so it really does need to be lined and have over hang!)
Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until pale.

Add egg, in 2 batches, beating well after each addition.
Stir in banana.

Sift flour and baking powder over banana mixture. Add milk. Stir with a wooden spoon until combined.

Carefully fold in Mulberries.
Spoon mixture into loaf pan. Smooth surface.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. (mine took closer to 55 min)

Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Lift onto a wire rack to cool



>Well I must go - I have two little ones waiting (not so) patiently to go and pick more Mulberries! Oh and look what else is growing at the end of the street..

..might have to pick a few of them too if they have ripened up since our last visit. For those that didnt reconise what they were - they are Blackberries - yum!

Edited to add, about an hour later - the results of our little trip down the road...

lots of mulberries.... (which despite eating millions off the tree they still scoffed into while I sat them next to them for the photo!)

Jacintas shoes and the fitted cloth nappy we were using like training pants...yes that means no cover to protect it, silly Mummy - look just as bad as she does!

The only way to clean up that mess, a nice warm bath. Perfect for relaxing before a nap.