Banana and Walnut Bread
I feel like banana bread is half the reasons bananas exist. It makes you feel like it’s healthy enough to eat for breakfast because of all that fruit, when we all know deep down it’s more of a dessert but hey, points for trying right? It gives you the perfect reason to use those sad, possibly overripe bananas and turn them into a moist, delicious loaf (made even more delicious when slathered with lashings of butter). Plus, it’s so easy to make that you can get it all together and in the oven within 15 minutes and just sit back and relax while the beautiful banana aromas waft through the house.
This recipe isn’t overly sweet – so if you want to add another ½ cup of sugar be my guest. Also, the addition of walnuts isn’t obligatory, I just added them because I like the texture and crunch it gives the bread but you can replace them with chocolate chips or just omit them entirely. Enjoy 🙂
Banana Bread
Makes 8 to 10 slices
Ingredients:
- 250g (2 cups) plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 125g unsalted butter, softened
- 250g (1 cup) caster sugar
- 4 ripe bananas, mashed
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 2 eggs
- Seeds from ½ vanilla pod
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4).
- Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs, banana, spices and vanilla.
- Sift dry ingredients and add to wet mixture along with walnuts, being careful not to over mix (over mixing results in a tough cake).
- Pour the batter into a non-stick, or lightly greased and floured, 19 x 11cm loaf tin and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the bread is cooked when tested with a skewer.
- Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool. Serve in thick slices with butter.
