Tried and tested: Banana Bread

We are loving the hot weather that has finally arrived. We have had several days with temperatures soaring over 30 degrees. Ok, the nights are a bit sticky, admittedly, but we are NOT complaining!

My days are quiet and rather uneventful, just enjoying the heat sitting under the lilac tree and trying to get back to my normal self. Must admit I am a bit impatient and the pain I experienced after a cautious swim yesterday was not very encouraging, but still, I am making progress. Just a very slow one...

We are all craving fruit and vegetables in the heat, but I had some bananas that had reached the height of ripeness, so making a banana bread was the only solution. It turned out very moist and delicious. You can make it with buttermilk, but you can also substitute this as suggested below if you don't have any:




285 plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
110g butter, plus extra for greasing
225g caster sugar
2 free-range eggs
4 VERY ripe bananas, mashed
85ml buttermilk (or normal milk mixed with 1½ tsp lemon juice or vinegar)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Bake at 180C

Sift the dry ingredients (flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt) into a large mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, mashed bananas, buttermilk and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture and mix well. Fold in the flour mixture.

I baked it in a normal bread tin which I greased well using Cake Release which I got from Lakeland. Bake the cake for about an hour, or until well-risen and golden-brown. Let the cake cool in the tin for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before serving.


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