banana loaf

As strange as it sounds, one of the highlights of my Europe trip was finding bananas selling for 1 pound a bunch - how very cheap! Actually on our first day there, they were handing out free bananas and um, I may have been a little delirious from the flight, and well I did chase down the man in the banana suit and got a picture with him too! (I'll get around to explaining myself one day but so far I've managed to get a good collection of photos with people dressed up in assorted food related suits).

Fortunately it looks like banana prices are finally dropping back down in Sydney. Noticed how Chatime had a sign up advertising 'Do you remember how banana taste?' (there was something grammatically wrong about the sign which bothered me when I saw it and its somehow stuck - seriously someone should do something about that sign!) But yes, bananas are back down to about $3/kg so mum and I picked up a nice big bunch to eat (and well, usually the case is that they start to brown very quickly so I end up using them for some baking).

Preheat oven to 170 degrees. In a large bowl, combine 270g brown sugar and 2 eggs with a hand mixer. Beat in 200g peeled mashed bananas. Add 280g plain flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1 tsp ground cinnamon and 1 tsp ground ginger to the mix. Mix thoroughly until incorporated. Pour in 140g melted unsalted butter and beat until all ingredients are well mixed.

Pour the mixture into a prepared loaf tin and smooth over the top with the spatula. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour or until firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

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

Makes about 8-10 slices.

Best way to eat banana bread (in my opinion), is to toast each slice in the toaster and serve with a generous glob of butter. Be mindful to slice the banana bread so that it actually fits into the toaster and whatever you do, don't stick a knife or fork into the toaster if it refuses to come out. Better way to do it is unplug the toaster, tip the toaster on its side and using your finger to prod it out (careful not to touch the hot metal components of the toaster). Occasionally I have had to completely turn the toaster upside down and a whole barrage of crumbs have come down with it (so yes, it does pay to clean/empty your toaster of crumbs regularly).

Anyway, this recipe is from The Hummingbird Bakery cookbook; a collection of some very reliable recipes that consistently come out beautiful from the oven - love it!