Banana loaf

For the boyf's birthday - today - I decided to do some baking. I usually make a chocolate cake but this year thought I'd try a couple of different recipes from the famed Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. I went for this banana cake as alternative birthday cake and some oat and raisin cookies (recipe to come).


It didn't exactly look like a birthday cake, until I added the candles, of course:

Ingredients:

270g soft light brown sugar

2 eggs

200g peeled bananas, mashed

280g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

140g unsalted butter, melted

a 23 x 13-cm loaf tin, greased and dusted with flour

Makes 8-10 slices

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170C (325F) Gas Mark 3.

2. Put the sugar and eggs in a free-standing electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a hand-held electric whisk) and beat until well incorporated.

3. Beat in the mashed bananas.

4. Add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and ginger to the sugar mixture. Mix it thoroughly until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated into the egg mixture.

5. Pour in the melted butter and beat until all the ingredients are well mixed.

6. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and smooth over with a palette knife.

7. Bake in the preheated over for about 1 hour, or until firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

8. Leave the cake to cool slightly in the tin before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Eat and enjoy!