When former primary school teacher Priscilla Toh, 35, began baking banana bread with her daughter in 2021, she didn’t expect to invent a Baneléis exactly what it sounds like: Rich banana bread that looks like a brownie, with a chocolatey centre and slightly charred, caramelised crust of a canelé .
Priscilla explained: “The older one used to love everything ladybug, so she loved the Ladybug Girl series. In the book, the characters make banana bread, so we were like ‘Hey, why don’t we make banana bread together?’”Interestingly, Priscilla said she “really disliked banana bread” at the time, but her husband, Rui Xiang Toh, 35, an orthopaedic surgeon at Singapore General Hospital, loved it.
Priscilla admitted that she doesn’t know how to bake canelés, though she often ate those made by her friend. That’s actually how the term Banelé was coinedshe sent her mum a batch of Banelés she baked together with canelés made by her friend, and her mum, accidentally mixing the two confections up, “gave feedback that she really enjoyed the Banelé, because she thought gave her banana canelés”. How cute.
Though they mainly operate as a takeaway shop, Banelé has two tiny flower-shaped tables that can accommodate around four people, if you’re inclined to nibble some perfectly-warmed cakes on the spot.The interior is cheery, hip and cosy, with splashes of yellow brightening the space. Priscilla says the decor is inspired by the Ladybug Girl books.
Its delightful crust gives way easily to an exceedingly moist, melt-in-the-mouth, spongy interior permeated with the sweetness of perfectly ripe bananas. A gooey layer of dark Valrhona chocolate underscores the cube, making each bite complex and bittersweet. Regular banana bread isn’t going to cut it after this.