What Do You Put on Banana Bread

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Banana bread can be a snack, breakfast, or dessert depending on what you’re putting on your banana bread.

The most typical way banana bread is served is warmed up, and then you spread butter on one side of the slice.

You an put so many condiments on top of banana bread to spice it up depending on the time of day you’re eating banana bread.

15 Things to Put on Banana Bread

  • butter
  • hazelnut spread
  • peanut butter
  • almond butter
  • ice cream
  • whipped cream
  • whipped cream and berries
  • vanilla custard
  • cream cheese
  • maple syrup
  • fresh berries
  • honey
  • cinnamon and sugar
  • chocolate sauce
  • caramel sauce

If you’re wanting to make a sandwich out of banana bread, you can fill your sandwich with hazelnut spread, peanut butter, and sliced fresh bananas.

What Do You Put on Banana Bread

How to store bananas for banana bread

Bananas can be stored at room temperature until they are brown and ready to bake for banana bread. You can also store brown ripe bananas in the freezer and then thaw then out at room temperature for about an hour prior to making banana bread. The darker the skin on the banana, the more sugar the banana has in it. The dark brown skin on a banana indicates it’s the best for making banana bread because you want to bake with bananas that have a high sugar content. This makes the bread extra tasty and delicious.

What happens if you don’t use ripe bananas for banana bread?

If you don’t use ripe bananas for banana bread your bread could end up tasting more tart, and not as fluffy and sugary as if you used ripe bananas. Unripe bananas are more difficult to mash up, so this could lead to a lumpy dough. Therefore your bread could be more dense. If you’re planning on using unripe bananas, make sure to mash you bananas more than you think you need to, and add a bit more sugar into your banana bread dough. This should mitigate the pitfalls of using unripe bananas for banana bread.

What happens if you don't use ripe bananas for banana bread

How long do you have to cool banana bread for

Cool banana bread for at least 15-20 minutes before serving. If you’re wanting to store the banana bread, be sure to let the banana bread cool for at least 1 hour before putting it in an airtight container. If you don’t wait long enough, condensation can form inside the container and make the bread wet – this can ruin it and make it go bad much faster. Wait until the banana bread has cooled to room temperature when you touch the sides of the loaf. This will indicate it is ready to be stores away in an airtight container.

How do you keep banana bread moist?

When banana bread is fresh it has a distinct moist, luscious, rich flavor to it. To prevent banana bread from drying out, keep it in an airtight container. You can wrap the banana bread up in plastic wrap as well, but make sure to store in an airtight container. The banana bread will remain moist when the air is kept from drying it out. Learn how to mix banana bread so it retains it’s freshness.

How to store banana bread in the freezer

Store your banana bread in the freezer by putting it in an airtight container. This will keep the frost and air off of your banana bread keeping it as fresh as possible. When you want to thaw your frozen banana bread, place it at room temperature. It should thaw in a couple of hours, depending on how large of a piece is frozen. If you’re freezing the whole loaf of banana bread, leave it overnight to thaw out at room temperature.

How to reheat banana bread

You can reheat banana bread by warming it in the microwave for 10-20 seconds per slice, or by placing it in the toaster oven for 1 toast cycle. By toasting the bread it will give it a crispy edge and a warm center.

How to Use Focaccia Bread

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Focaccia bread can be used in a variety of ways including as an appetizer for dipping, as sandwich bread, and as a base for bruschetta.

If you’ve never homemade your own focaccia bread at home, try out our Easy Herb Focaccia Bread Recipe.

how to use focaccia bread

What’s the best way to serve focaccia bread

The best way to serve focaccia bread is by serving it with olive oil and balsamic reduction.

best way to serve focaccia bread

Appetizer

  1. Slice focaccia bread widthwise making it about 2 cm in thickness for each slice using a serrated knife.
  2. Arrange the sliced focaccia bread on a serving plate.
  3. Take a large dinner plate or serving plate and place a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil on it, so it covers the plate.
  4. Add balsamic reduction to the olive oil sparingly. Do not mix.
  5. Serve the sliced focaccia bread by dipping the bread in the olive oil and balsamic reduction mixture.
  6. Enjoy!
how to use focaccia bread as an appetizer

Sandwich

  1. Slice focaccia bread 1-2 cm in thickness using a serrated knife.
  2. Toast focaccia bread for 2 min.
  3. Remove focaccia bread from the toaster and add your condiments to each side of the bread.
  4. Add in your meat, cheese, and vegetables.
  5. Serve your focaccia bread sandwich with a toothpick pierced all the way through the sandwich so it stays together for you.
  6. Enjoy!

Bruschetta

  1. Dice 1 tomato into small cubes.
  2. Add a tablespoon of diced onion. Be sure to make them very small.
  3. Add 3-4 tablespoons of freshly made pesto.
  4. Mix together the tomato, onion and pesto until it’s all combined.
  5. Slice focaccia bread using a serrated knife into pieces that are ~1 cm in thickness.
  6. Cut the focaccia bread in half so it’s in more of a serving size piece.
  7. Top the focaccia bread with the tomato mixture.
  8. Add a pinch of freshly grated parmesan cheese to the top of the tomato mixture.
  9. Toast bruschetta for 2 min.
  10. Place bruschetta on a serving plate.
  11. Add a touch of balsamic reduction to the bruschetta.
  12. Enjoy!

Using balsamic reduction for your appetizers is preferred over balsamic vinegar.

Balsamic reduction is more of a sweet and savory flavor, and has a thick viscosity to it, whereas balsamic vinegar is a bit harsh to eat on it’s own due to it’s acidity.

Balsamic vinegar is typically used in combination with other ingredients to bring down it’s harshness.

By using balsamic reduction you can use it as a garnish, dipping sauce, glaze, or salad dressing, due to it’s ease of taste. You can get a ton of different flavors including garlic, strawberry, peach, fig, raspberry, pomegranate, pear, etc.

what to pair focaccia bread with

13 Dishes that go well with Focaccia Bread

  • fresh cut up vegetables
  • crab dip
  • shrimp dip
  • hummus
  • baked brie
  • taco bites
  • charcuterie board
  • guacamole
  • deviled eggs
  • spinach dip
  • stuffed mushrooms
  • pinwheels
  • cheeseball
herb focaccia bread

37 Tea Time Sweets to Serve for Afternoon Tea

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Afternoon tea is a special occasion filled with enticing sweets and treats.

Tea scones, clotted cream, and jam are one of the most classic treats served with afternoon tea.

Usually there will be small cookies, brownies, cakes to choose from.

how to serve afternoon tea

Afternoon Tea Time Sweets

You’ll want to select at least 3-4 different types of sweets for your afternoon tea.

Try picking one scone, one cake, one cookie, and one bar to serve. This will give your guests a variety to choose from.

  • lemon bars
  • chocolate mousse
  • raspberry mousse
  • lemon loaf
  • carrot cake
  • pumpkin loaf
  • vanilla scones
  • pumpkin scones
  • lavender scones
  • scones with clotted cream and jam
  • brownies
  • shortbread
  • butter tarts
  • raspberry tarts
  • strawberry tarts
  • lemon curd tarts
  • mini cinnamon buns
  • mini cupcakes
  • Nanaimo bars
  • mini muffins
  • peanut butter cookies
  • beignets
  • madeleines
  • raspberry jelly filled cookies
  • macarons
  • mini vanilla custard stuffed croissants
  • mini Danishes
  • mini croissants
  • mini pain au chocolat
  • gingersnaps
  • raisin oatmeal cookies
  • rhubarb bars
  • mini eclairs
  • peanut butter cups
  • cheesecake
  • chocolate cake
  • vanilla cake
  • chocolate covered strawberries

Begin eating with the finger sandwiches, and pinwheels first on the bottom tier of your platter. You can drink your tea at any time when it’s brewed to your strength and liking.

tea time sweets for afternoon tea

How to serve afternoon tea

Serve your afternoon tea foods on a 3 tier platter. Your tea time sweets will go on the very top tier of the platter. Scones and breads will go on the second tier. Finally, tea time sandwiches will go on the bottom tier.

Serve your tea in an elegant tea pot with specialty tea cups if you have them. Typically tea cups will have a cup and saucer for the tea cup to sit on. Don’t forget to put out cream and sugar for your guests tea.

For your guests, have some china plates for them to eat off of. If you don’t have any, try a small side plate to catch any crumbs for your guest. You can include some salt and pepper shakers as well, just in case your guests need them.

How to eat afternoon tea

Next, eat the second tier. The second tier will be composed of scones, crumpets, and breads.

The final tier to eat will be the tea time sweets. The tea time sweets will consist of pastries, tarts, cookies, cakes, bars.

What do British people eat with their tea

Tea time is favorite tradition for British families. Afternoon tea is a staple in most English households. British people eat crumpets, scones, pastries, cakes, biscuits and finger sandwiches with their tea.

What is the history of high tea

The concept of afternoon tea was introduced back in the 1840’s when the Duchess of Bedford requested tea, bread, butter and cake usually around 9 pm.

After the Duchess introduced its concept, it became much more popular among the wealthy when they could display their best china and linen for their tea time.

More recently, it has become a specialty occasion for people in North America to go for high tea.

tea time sweets