I’m not a big fan of the over ripe banana. I love them when they’ve just changed from green to yellow, but as soon as those dark brown spots appear on the skin, I’m over it. The flesh goes a bit cotton wooly, and I find them hard to eat.
But thanks to my introduction to banana bread in Australia, those spotty old fruits finally have a use. This recipe uses four of the buggers, and a little kick of rum for background flavour.
Ingredients
4 medium sized ripe bananas (spotty with soft flesh)
250g plain white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
250g golden caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
125g unsalted butter
2 eggs
2 tablespoons dark rum
Method
First up, set your oven set to 175 c and then grease a medium sized (19 x 11 cm) loaf tin with unsalted butter.
Now peel the bananas, discarding any strips of skin, and mash them up in a large bowl until pulped. Mix the butter into the bananas, ensuring it is warm and soft before you do. Next mix in the sugar, vanilla extract, rum and two lightly beaten eggs. You’ll be left with a lumpy, slightly odd looking mixture.
Place a sieve over the bowl and sift the flour and baking powder into it. Stir in gently, being careful not to over mix it, and then pour the batter into the loaf tin.
Pop into the oven, and cook for an hour and fifteen minutes. The reason for the long cooking time is that the mixture is rather wet. This also means that when the loaf is done, the outside will be a pretty dark brown, looking almost burned. Don’t be alarmed, this is how it should be.
After the hour and fifteen, take the tin out, and run a knife into the centre of the loaf. If it comes out clean, it’s ready. If not, pop it back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
If done, leave the banana bread in the tin on one side for 10 minutes or so, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. The loaf will sink a bit during cooling, and firm up so it slices better.
The Aussies like to eat if for breakfast toasted and sliced with ricotta, but you can eat it at any time of the day really. I prefer it with just some butter, or maybe a bit of Marscapone.
Tags: Baked, Banana, Bread, Buter, Eggs, Flour, Marscapone, Rum, Sugar, Toasted, vanilla extract
