I have to admit that I am not a fan of banana sweets – you may never see a banoffee pie recipe on my blog – I would just about eat bananas as they are, however I do make this banana loaf and… it’s simply amazing. It does not taste much like banana but just a touch. If you would like to enhance the banana flavour, just bake the bananas in their skin for about 30 minutes in the oven.
So, if someone who does not like banana sweets said this is amazing…. imagine how a banana sweets lover will find this loaf. Let me know, I would be very interested to find out your thoughts.
It is a really moist loaf and I can assure you this is the best banana loaf you have ever tasted. I particularly love that combination of cacao and banana and then it comes the walnuts… woow!
It is superb and truly delicious.
Few other ideas you can experiment with: add some vanilla and rum as a flavour or vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. I also, sometimes (just for variation, but also just because it is me and I never use the same twice, always having to change, add, swap ingredients so I don’t get bored) add just a handful of either dry fruits (like cranberries, sultanas), or some fresh or canned pineapple, finely chopped.
Banana, ginger and walnut cake
Ingredients
- 5 meduim-small bananas (ripe)
- 100 ml oil or butter (room temp or melted)
- 2 eggs
- 240 g white flour
- 170 g Muscavado sugar (light brown)
- 120 g oat bran
- 100 g walnut (chopped and slightly toasted)
- 2 tbsp buttermilk
- 1/2 tsp ginger (grated)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 nutmeg (grated)
- 1/3 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 soda bicarbonate
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar or 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 or 2 tbsp cacao powder (heaped)
- 1 tsp rum essence (optional)
- 2 tbsp coconut flakes (optional)
- 1 tbsp honey or 1/2 tsp cinnamon, to brush over
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 180C fan/200 C /350 F Gas 4.
- Spray or grease an oven dish 9x5 in (loaf shape).
- Peel and prepare the bananas. Pure them with the help of a fork. Set aside.
- In a freestanding mixer whizz for 2-3 minutes the oil and the sugar adding the eggs one by one, the vanilla and the buttermilk. I sometimes just add rum only for a really nice and different flavour. I LOVE rum flavour, I really do.
- In a larger bowl, sieve the flour. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and the salt. Add the baking powder and the soda bicarbonate that was mixed with the vinegar or the lemon juice. Mix all those and add to the sugar, oil/butter and egg mix. Whizz in the flour adding little by little and reduce the speed to very low so the flour will not get all puffed out of the bowl, but also we need the flour to get folded in gently until it all incorporates nicely.
- Add the chopped and toasted walnuts and split the mixture into two parts.
- Add 1 or 2 tbsp cacao to one part of the mixture and homogenize well. Optionally, add 2 tbsp coconut flakes the the other part and stir it in.
- Pour the coconut part of the mixture into the greased tin and then pour the cacao one over or the other way around.
- Place in the oven and bake at 190 C for about 50-60 minutes all depending on the oven but test with a toothpick and if this comes out clean, it is ready.
- Take out of the oven and brush over the honey and cinnamon mix while this is still hot.
- Allow to cool completely before taking out of the tin and slicing it.
- Enjoy on its own or along with some creme fraiche which is slightly sour and gives it that perfect finish. It is perfectly okay to have on its own with a cuppa. It definitely has the wow factor!
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