Food / 23 February, 2017 / My Baba

Go Bananas Over These Scrumptious Recipes to Celebrate National Banana Bread Day!

Banana & honey bread

Ingredients:

• 1 x basic bread recipe
• 6 bananas
• 8 tablespoons runny honey
• 1 handful almonds , cracked or chopped

Method:

Gluten-free banana bread

Ingredients:

• 125g (4oz) butter
• 120g (4oz) caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 large very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
• 225g (7 1/2oz) Doves Farm gluten-free flour
• 1/2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
• 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 100g (3 1/2oz) sultanas or dried apricots, chopped into little pieces
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method:

• Preheat oven to gas 4, 180°C, fan 160°C. Grease and line a 1kg (2lb) loaf tin.
• In a stand mixer or with an electric whisk, beat the butter and sugar until pale, light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one by one until well combined. Then add in the remaining ingredients. Fold everything together until fully incorporated.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, until golden brown. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean. If the top is darkening too quickly, cover it with foil.
• Once done, remove from the oven and leave to cool in its tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Cut into thick slices and serve with butter.
• Gluten-free cooking tip: Xantham gum aids in gluten-free baking making them less crumbly and makes gluten-free pastry easier to roll and handle. It’s available in specialist health food stores and in some supermarkets.”‹

Dairy-free banana loaf

Ingredients:

• 175 g dairy-free margarine , (suitable for baking), plus extra for greasing
• 175 g self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 175 g golden caster sugar
• 200 g ground almonds
• 2 large free-range eggs
• 3 ripe bananas

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 170ºC/325ºF/gas 5. Grease a 1.5 litre loaf tin with dairy-free margarine and line with greaseproof paper.
• Sieve the flour into a food processor, then add all the remaining ingredients (except the bananas). Blitz well until combined. Peel the bananas, roughly mash in a bowl, then add to the food processor. Pulse briefly to combine, then scrape the mixture into the prepared loaf tin.
• Place the tin in the hot oven and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until golden and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool slightly in the tin, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy with a drizzle of honey and a few extra slice of banana, if you like.

Breakfast banana bread

Ingredients:

• 2 medium eggs
• 200g muscovado sugar
• 100g butter, melted and cooled
• 3 really ripe large bananas
• 75g full fat Greek yogurt
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 200g plain flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 110g blueberries
• 25g (1oz) chopped hazelnuts
• Greek yogurt, to serve
• honey, to serve

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/Gas Mark 5. Grease and line a 2lb (900g) loaf tin with nonstick baking paper. With an electric whisk, mix the eggs, sugar, cooled butter and a good pinch of salt together for 4 minutes until light and fluffy. Mash the banana and yoghurt with a fork, add to the eggs with the vanilla extract and whisk again.
• Add a spoonful of the flour to the blueberries and mix to coat. Stir the baking powder into the remaining flour and sift this over the top of the whisked eggs and banana. Fold through, then add the blueberries and fold again until everything’s just combined. Spoon into your prepared tin, even the top and sprinkle over the hazelnuts. Bake in the oven for 1 hour 10 minutes, until a skewer comes away clean.
• Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack. Serve with Greek yogurt and a drizzle of clear honey.

Raspberry & Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plain flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup brown sugar plus 3 tsp extra for topping
• 1 1/3 cups Creative Gourmet frozen Raspberries
• 1 cup mashed banana
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 125g butter, melted and cooled

Method:

• Preheat an oven to 180°C. Grease a 23cm long x 10cm wide x 8cm loaf pan with melted butter and line the base and sides with non-stick baking paper
• Sift flour, baking powder, bi-carbonate of soda, salt and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Stir in sugar and 1 cup frozen raspberries
• Whisk banana, buttermilk, egg and melted butter in a jug. Using a large metal spoon, fold banana mixture into dry ingredients. Spoon mixture into prepared pan
• Sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup frozen raspberries, slightly press into mixture then sprinkle with 3 tsp brown sugar
• Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes then turn onto a cake rack to cool
• Store in an airtight container, serve at room temperature or toasted and lightly buttered

Banana choc chip bread

Ingredients:

• 3 really ripe large bananas
• 120g unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus a little for greasing
• 2 medium eggs, beaten
• 200g golden caster sugar
• 250g plain flour
• 1/2tsp cinnamon
• 1tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 120ml milk
• 100g dark chocolate, chopped into pieces

Method:

• Preheat the oven to gas 5, 190°C, fan 170°C. Grease and line a 2lb (900g) loaf tin with nonstick baking paper. In a large bowl mash the bananas with the back of a fork and stir through the cooled butter, eggs and sugar.
• Mix together the dry ingredients with a pinch of salt, then sift this over the mashed bananas. Half fold through with a large metal spoon, then add the mllk and chopped chocolate and continue to carefully fold everything together.
• Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and place in the oven to bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes away clean (cover with foil if it browns too much). Leave to cool for 15 minutes in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Avocado and banana bread

Ingredients:

• 3 very ripe bananas
• 1 avocado
• 30g (1oz) butter, softened
• 4 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 x 200g pack ground almonds
• 30g (1oz) milled flax seeds
• 100g (3 1/2oz) Greek yogurt, to serve (optional)
• 1 orange, zested, to serve (optional)
• 1 tsp maple syrup, to serve (optional)

Method:

• Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180ºC, fan 160ºC. Line a 1kg (2lb) loaf tin with nonstick baking paper.
• In a mixing bowl, mash together the bananas, avocado and butter. Add the maple syrup, cinnamon, eggs, bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt. Mix well, then fold in the ground almonds and milled flax seeds.
• Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 1 hour – 1 1/4 hours, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake. You may need to cover the cake with foil towards the end of cooking if it starts to brown too quickly.
• Allow the cake to cool a little in the tin before turning out and slicing. If using, combine the Greek yogurt with the orange zest and maple syrup and serve alongside the banana bread, to drizzle over.