Banana Bread

Banana bread or cake has a beautiful nostalgic smell and taste for me. As a child banana cake was one of my favourites that my Mum used to bake and now toasted banana bread in a favourite cafe brings back all those memories – Sally, Gatting’s.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/3 cups mashed very ripe banana (about 4 medium or 3 large)
• 2 tbsp (15g) ground almonds
• 1/3 cup (80ml) milk
• 1/3 cup (80ml) oil
• 2 tbsp (30ml) maple syrup
• 2 tsp (10ml) vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp (60g) sugar
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup fine sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups white/wholemeal flour
• Sliced banana, chopped walnuts or peanuts and/or chocolate chips for topping (optional)

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Lightly spray a loaf tin with oil and set aside.
2. In a large bowl mash the banana until almost smooth and make sure you have 1 1/3 cups.
3. Stir the ground almonds, milk, oil, maple syrup and vanilla into the banana until combined.
4. Stir the dry ingredients (sugar, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour) into the wet mixture, one by one, in the order listed. Stop stirring when there are no flour patches at the bottom of the bowl.
5. Spoon the dough into a loaf pan and spread out evenly. Add your desired toppings and gently press them into the dough.
6. Bake the loaf, uncovered, for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into loaf.
7. Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack for 30 minutes. Then slide a knife around the loaf to loosen it and gently remove it from the pan, placing it directly onto the cooling rack until completely cooled.

Serving Suggestions

Enjoy sliced, and toasted if you like, with your choice of topping.