I fell in love with Sydney when I realised that *every* cafe had a banana bread on their breakfast menu. I prefer mine toasted with a salted tahini-honey butter or spread thick with nut butter.
Click here to watch this bake on Menu.
Total time to make : 75 minutes Time to prep : 15 minutes
Time to bake : ~ 60 minutes
Servings : 10 slices
Ingredients
250g (about 3 medium) ripe bananas, mashed
1 banana, to top
220g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
240g soft brown sugar
125g butter, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract/paste
Demerara sugar to top (optional)
Method
Preheat a fan oven to 165C
Mash the 3 ripe bananas in a bowl and set aside
Combine the dry ingredients by sieving the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together into a bowl
In a seperate large bowl, combine the wet ingredients by creaming the sugar and butter together until there are no lumps left and you have a smooth paste, then add in the eggs, one at a time until fully mixed and add the vanilla
Tip the dry ingredients in with the wet and 'fold' together until just combined, being careful not to over-mix
Finally, add in the mashed bananas and fold through evenly
Pour the mixture into a greased and lined 2lb loaf tin and top with the extra banana, sliced thinly lengthways or chopped into coins, and a sprinkle of Demerara sugar
Bake for around 1 hour, the loaf will be a golden brown and should nicely rise in the oven. It's ready when there's no 'wobble' in the middle and a toothpick or skewer comes out clean (with no wet mix) when inserted into the middle of the cake. If your banana bread is still not ready in the middle, cover with a tin foil lid and bake for another 15 - 20 minutes, this will stop the top from browning any further but keep baking in the middle
Remove the loaf from the oven and wait for it to completely cool before slicing
Nutritional Information
(per slice)
305 calories
4g protein, 46g carbs, 11g fat
Good to know:
Check your baking powder is in date before using! The biggest reason for a loaf with no rise is often an in-active raising agent or over-mixing of the recipe. Mix 1/2 tsp baking powder with 1 - 2 tbsp boiling water and it should bubble vigorously if it's still active
Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days, refrigerated for up to 1 week
Banana bread freezes really well. Once sliced and totally cooled, individually wrap each slice and store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months
Vegetarian, can be made DF by substituting butter with coconut (or other baking) oil