Lauren's Banana Cake...with Cream Cheese Icing!

As I've told you, I've been deep in the books this week. Reading and writing. So far, I only have about two thousand words to show for it, but I had a great tutorial last night with the director of our program, and am feeling as though the paper is on the right track. My diet however, is not.

I say diet, referring to my nutritional intake. I am by no means depriving myself. Let's get serious. I just had to mention it, in this post, as this week has been particularly bad.

I'm a firm believer that as long as you exercise, are aware of proportion, and eat a balanced diet, you'll be ok......until that is, you are introduced to Lauren's Banana Bars with cream cheese icing.

She calls them bars, but I'm not so sure. I wouldn't call it a banana loaf because it's more cake-like (it is seriously tasty). I think it would actually be nice in a round cake pan, but I digress.

I found her recipe when reading her blog, Aspiring Kennedy. Lauren is a fellow expat, living in Notting Hill. Her blog is fantastic, and is filled with amazing travel tips. When I initially saw the recipe, I 'pinned' it, thinking, yum, another banana bread that I will have to try sometime. I like banana bread, and am always buying too many bananas. The odd day, when I wake up too late to have a proper breakfast before my swim, I like to take a banana....but most of the time, I eat one or two during the week and the rest go brown. At home (thanks to Jake's advice), I would chop the brown ones up into two or three chunks and throw them in a Ziploc, and then into the freezer, using them later in a morning smoothie. I haven't really gotten into the smoothie thing here though...hence why I need banana recipes.

Anyways, this recipe is to die for. The first night I made them (study break), I ate three in one sitting. I shouldn't be admitting this. I think I've had one for breakfast (it started by just wanting to take a sliver off the side each morning, but that's impossible) every day this week, and definitely more than one with my tea after dinner. I will honestly be a better person when this loaf /cake /bar thing is finished. It feels like Halloween candy in that way. I thought about taking it to class on Wednesday night (and fattening up my peers), but we were at the Tate Modern, and I didn't know how well bringing cream cheese icing into an Art Gallery would go over. It's not like we're touching the Rothko's or anything! I also thought about bringing some for my teacher to last night's tutorial, but I didn't want her to think I was sucking up.

Guess I'll just have to eat it myself.

Click HERE for Lauren's AMAZING recipe, and to check out her fantastic blog.

**Also, I added an extra banana  (just because I had one), and the cake was super moist with great flavour.

What have you got planned for the weekend? I'm going to 'merge' some friends together locally on Saturday night. I'm excited for them to meet, but more excited that 'locally' means I don't have to take the crazy night bus home. I'm also hoping to fine tune my plans for Paris the following weekend.

All good things.

Lastly, I'll leave you with this. I 'stumbled upon' it, and laughed, thinking of the poor kid sleeping on the couch, but kindly leaving this note. Too funny.

P.S.  I realized I forgot to tell you that on Wednesday night, on the way to the Tate, I ran into another 'person that I know' (see Tuesday's post if you're lost). How crazy is that? Never before, and then twice in three days. Weird.