Servings: 8 – 10 Time: About 90 minutes Difficulty: Easy
A very easy, sweet and tasty, loaf with a great combination of flavours.
Credit: This recipe was taken from the excellent small BBC Good Food book “101 Cakes and Bakes”. Only a few minor changes and additions have been made.
Calories: Approx. 3,500 total (Divide by the number of slices.)
Ingredients
- 225g/8 oz self-raising flour (I used gluten-free flour)
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 175g/6 oz unsalted butter, softened
- 100g/4 oz light muscovado sugar
- 3 tbsp runny honey (* see tip 1)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 medium size, ripe bananas – around 200g/8 oz skinned (* see tip 2)
- 100g/4 oz stoned dates, chopped quite small
- 50g walnut pieces or halves
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C/Gas 3 (fan oven 140).
- Lightly grease a 1kg/2 lb loaf tin and line the base and long sides with baking parchment. (* see tip 3)
- Measure the flour, cinnamon, butter, sugar, 2 tbsp honey and the eggs into a large mixing bowl. Mash the bananas and add to the bowl, followed by the dates. Beat the mixture until everything is well blended and smooth.
- Spoon or pour the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface. Scatter or place the walnuts over the top.
- Bake for around an hour and test with a skewer or similar instrument. If necessary return to the oven for a short period.
- Cool for about 15 minutes, then use the paper sides to lift the loaf out of the tin to cool fully on a wire rack.
- Drizzle the remaining honey over the loaf, or warm the honey briefly in a micro-wave oven and brush it on.
*Tip 1 – Lightly spray or smear your spoon with oil then the honey will run off more easily.
*Tip 2 – If your bananas are not ripe, pierce them several times with a fork then give them a few 20 – 30 second blasts in the microwave until ready. (They may need to cool before you use them.)
*Tip 3 – Pre-formed loaf tin liners are relatively cheap and very convenient, especially if you intend giving away the finished loaf.
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