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Banana Bread
Serves 1 Prep 15 min Cook 55 min Total 1 hr 10 min

Banana Bread

The blackest-banana redemption recipe. Mashed overripe bananas give moisture and sweetness; a touch of cinnamon gives warmth; walnut chunks give crunch. One bowl, no mixer needed.

Serves 1 Prep 15 minutes Cook 55 minutes Units Rate

Overview

Wet ingredients (mashed banana, eggs, melted butter, sugar, vanilla) mix in one bowl. Dry (flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, salt) join in. Walnuts fold through. Pours into a loaf tin; bakes for 55 minutes. Cools (with patience) on a wire rack before slicing.

Ingredients

  • 4 very ripe bananas (about 450 g, the blacker the better)
  • 175 g caster sugar (or 100 g caster + 75 g brown for deeper flavour)
  • 2 eggs (large)
  • 100 g unsalted butter (melted, cooled slightly)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 250 g plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 100 g walnuts (chopped, optional)

Method

Stage 1 - Prep

  1. Heat the oven to 175°C (155°C fan).
  2. Grease and line a 1 kg loaf tin (about 23 x 13 cm) with parchment paper.

Stage 2 - Wet ingredients

  1. In a large bowl, mash the bananas thoroughly with a fork (some lumps are fine).
  2. Whisk in the sugar, eggs, melted butter and vanilla.

Stage 3 - Dry ingredients

  1. In another bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt.

Stage 4 - Combine

  1. Pour the dry into the wet; fold gently with a spatula until just combined.
  2. Stop mixing as soon as no flour streaks remain - overmixing makes a tough loaf.
  3. Fold in the walnuts.

Stage 5 - Bake

  1. Pour the batter into the lined tin; smooth the top.
  2. Bake for 50-60 minutes; a skewer in the centre should come out with moist crumbs (not wet batter).
  3. If the top browns too quickly, tent with foil after 35 minutes.

Stage 6 - Cool

  1. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.
  2. Cool completely (or as long as you can manage) before slicing.

Notes

  • Black bananas only: Yellow bananas give pale, dense, flat-flavoured bread. Bananas should be heavily speckled, ideally with skins more black than yellow.
  • Don't overmix: The most common mistake. Fold gently; lumps are fine. Mix until just combined.
  • Mix sugars: All caster gives a clean sweetness; some brown sugar gives a fudgy, molasses note.

Variations

Chocolate chip: Add 100 g dark chocolate chips along with the walnuts. Coffee glaze: Drizzle a glaze of icing sugar + strong espresso over the cooled loaf. Spiced: Add ¼ teaspoon nutmeg and ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom to the dry mix.

Storage

  • Keeps 4 days in an airtight tin at room temperature; the flavour deepens.
  • Freezes well 3 months whole or sliced. Defrost overnight at room temperature.

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Ricotta is drained in muslin for at least 4 hours (overnight ideal) to lose the wet whey. A pastry dough of plain flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, Marsala, vinegar, butter and egg yolk is mixed, kneaded smooth, rested for 30 minutes, then rolled out very thin (pasta-thin). Discs (12 cm) cut; wrapped around oiled metal cannoli forms; egg-wash sealed; deep-fried at 180°C for 90 seconds until amber and crackling. Cooled, the shells lift off the moulds. The drained ricotta sweetens with icing sugar, vanilla and orange zest; chocolate chips and chopped candied peel fold through. Piped into the shells at the moment of serving; ends dipped in chopped pistachio or chocolate; dusted with icing sugar.

Desserts 5 hours 45 minutes Serves8