When I notice overripe bananas hanging over the fruit bowl, my mind wanders to homemade banana bread.
While it’s a hard bake to get wrong, some recipes have fared better than others in my attempts at making this fruity delight that’s become a staple for many Britons.
I’ve tried many banana loaf recipes, from ones without sugar to those with a boozy twist. One thing I’ve come to realise is that there’s one kind that always wins.
Banana loaf that can be likened more to bread than cake often warrants a more balanced flavour and desirable texture.
Some people will, of course, say that it’s only bread if it contains flour, water, yeast, salt, and oil, with some exceptions, but since stumbling across this BBC Good Food recipe, I haven’t looked back on my banana bread endeavours.
The recipe, by Justine Pattison, is titled the ‘easiest ever banana cake’, and there’s good reason for it. Unlike some recipes, oil replaces butter, so there’s no need to cream the butter or mill it into breadcrumbs with the flour.
It’s also incredibly versatile. The banana bread works perfectly independently or with nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chunks, and spices.
When I made it recently, I added a handful of sultanas, which plumped up perfectly in the oven. They also release a burst of juiciness when you tuck into a slice of the finished loaf.
I topped the two uncooked loaves (I doubled the quantities to make two) with banana slices, as I had more fruit than the recipe called for. They baked seamlessly into the top of each.
As for the sugar, I swapped out most of the brown sugar for caster as I only had a quarter of the amount of brown sugar required.
Method
A hot oven is essential for a good rise on the loaf, so start by preheating the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Source a standard-sized loaf tin and grease it with a little butter or cooking oil before lining it with baking parchment, or use a loaf tin liner.
Peel and mash the bananas with a fork, then transfer them into a large mixing bowl with the eggs, sugar and oil. Use a fork or whisk to combine the ingredients into a thick but loose mixture.
Now, sieve in the flour, mix the spice and baking powder and whisk until thoroughly combined. If using sultanas, nuts, or other additions, stir these through the mixture now.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 40 minutes, or until the cake is well risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack or a plate. Serve warm or cold in slices – it’s perfect with a cup of tea.