I do like bananas, but really only when they are a bit green. Mr McGregor doesn’t eat them in their raw state. I always buy them in at least fives, and although I intend to get through them, come the weekend there are sometimes a couple of speckled bananas in the fruit bowl. What to do other than make a banana loaf? Probably the easiest cake ever, since you just mix almost everything together from the start.
Today, left with two very over-ripe bananas, I added some dates that were hiding in the back of the baking cupboard.
Here’s the recipe (you can download a pdf here: Banana and date loaf)
Banana and date loaf
100g softened unsalted butter
50g caster sugar
2 large eggs
2 ripe bananas (the riper the better), mashed
225g self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons of milk (I use skimmed milk but semi-skimmed or full fat would be fine)
100g chopped dates
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease a 900g loaf tin and line with baking parchment
- Measure all ingredients except dates into a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly until fully mixed and smooth
- Mix in dates
- Pour into loaf tin and level
- Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden and risen, and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean
- Cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out to cool fully on a wire rack
- Enjoy
