Brilliant Banana Loaf Recipes

BANANA LOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, stir in the mashed bananas.
• In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Blend the banana mixture into the flour mixture; stirring just to combine. Fold in the nuts.
• Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.

BANANA-WALNUT LOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch (2-quart) loaf pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of banana; mix until just combined. Stir in walnuts, if desired, by hand.
• Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, 60 to 70 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes in pan, then turn out of pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.

BANANA LOAF

Steps:

• You will need a 900g (2lb) loaf tin, 17 x 9 x 9cm (6½ x 3½ x 3½in) base measurement. Lightly grease the loaf tin and line it with non-stick baking parchment. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Measure all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and beat for about two minutes, until well blended; an electric mixer is best for this but of course you can also beat by hand with a wooden spoon. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface. Bake for about one hour, until well risen and golden brown. A fine skewer inserted in the centre of the cake should come out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then loosen with a small palette knife and turn the cake out. Remove the lining paper and leave on a wire rack to cool completely. Slice thickly to serve. Get your copy of Simple Comforts, Mary Berry's essential new guide to comfort cooking. Featuring over 120 delicious, foolproof recipes, including a whole chapter of Mary's favourite new bakes and puds:

BRILLIANT BANANA LOAF

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• Butter a 2lb loaf tin and line the base and sides with baking parchment.
• Cream 140g softened butter and 140g caster sugar until light and fluffy, then slowly add 2 beaten large eggs with a little of the 140g flour.
• Fold in the remaining flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 2 mashed bananas.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about 50 mins, or until cooked through. Check the loaf at 5-min intervals by testing it with a skewer (it should be able to be inserted and removed cleanly), as the time may vary depending on the shape of your loaf tin.
• Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then remove to a wire rack.
• Mix 50g icing sugar with 2-3 tsp water to make a runny icing.
• Drizzle the icing across the top of the cake and decorate with a handful of banana chips.

MARY BERRY'S BANANA BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven 160C/140C Fan/Gas 3. Grease and line a 450g/1lb loaf tin with non-stick baking parchment.
• Use a fork to mash the peeled banana in a mixing bowl. Add the remaining cake ingredients (except the chocolate chips) and beat with an electric hand whisk until combined and smooth.
• Stir in the chocolate chips and spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf tin. Level the top.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes or until well risen, shrinking away from the sides of the tin and golden-brown.
• Set aside to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.
• For the decoration, break the chocolate into small pieces and add to a heatproof bowl.
• Melt the chocolate in the bowl over a pan of simmering water (ensuring that the bowl does not touch the water). Stir regularly, until almost completely melted, then remove from the heat. The heat of the bowl will melt any remaining lumps.
• Spoon the melted chocolate into a piping bag and pipe zig-zags across the top of the loaf. Set aside for the chocolate to set. Slice and serve.