The beautiful scent permeates the whole house, carrying a delicious promise as it travels from room to room. I love the smell of banana bread baking on a cold winter’s afternoon. It’s one of Mr D.’s frequent requests and very easy to make.
My favourite banana bread recipe is based on Sophie Dahl’s recipe in her delectable book “Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights” (see a version of the recipe). Brown sugar results in a luscious dark, caramel overtone.
I substitute canola oil for the butter in the recipe, with excellent results. Another little secret I have discovered is to turn the fan off in my fan-forced oven, to avoid the top of the cake from burning (as it’s in the oven for about an hour).
My final tip is to use over- ripe bananas that have been frozen then thawed; the freezing and thawing process results in much easier mashing and a smooth texture to the resulting banana pulp. Blackened over-ripe bananas can simply just be placed into the freezer whole (in my case, for months at a time in an ever-increasing pile) and then defrosted in the fridge overnight or in the microwave for a few minutes.
Eaten at my desk at work, a slice of banana bread with a coffee is often my saviour on those rushed mid-week mornings when there’s no time for breakfast at home. I find it satisfying but not too heavy, and it keeps me going for hours.
What’s your favourite banana bread recipe?
Fortunately I ran a banana bread bake off and every time I want to make a banana bread, I pop onto the story and make one of them. There was even an interesting one with curry-it was delicious!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lorraine! I love your banana bread bake-off idea. The pineapple curry banana bread recipe looks intriguing - I'll have to try it.
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