Banana Bread

I could't not begin to guess how many times I have made this recipe. It was a favourite in my cafe, many years ago, and some days I couldn't make it fast enough to keep up with demand.

Ingredients

+ 3-4 very ripe bananas, frozen in zip lock bag

+ 100g butter, melted

+ 1 teaspoon vanilla

+ ¾ cup brown sugar

+ 2 eggs, beaten

+ 2 cups self-raising flour

+ 1 tablespoon cinnamon

+ Pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius

2. Grease and line a loaf tin

3. Microwave bananas in the ziplock bag for 30 second intervals until defrosted and warm.  Using your hands, squash the banana inside the bag until they form a smooth paste

4. Place bananas in a bowl and add melted butter, vanilla and brown sugar.  Stir well until the sugar starts to dissolves and any lumps are gone.

5. Add eggs and stir

6. Sift flour into a seperate bowl and add cinnamon and salt

7. Add the banana mixture into the flour and gently fold together

8. Pour batter into loaf tin

9. Bake for 1 hours or until a skewer comes out clean.  Note: the cooking time will vary depending on the quantity and moisture content of the bananas

10. Allow to cool on a rack before slicing

Notes

I always freeze my bananas because I rarely make this recipe on the same day as the bananas have gotten too ripe.

I also find that defrosting them in the microwave intensifies the flavour and the warmth helps dissolve the sugar.  But this recipe works just fine with freshly mashed bananas.

I often add extra ingredients to add texture. A couple of tablespoons of LSA, chia seeds or coconut flakes are a great way to change things up and add fibre. Just add them to the four mixture before adding the wet ingredients.