Banana Nut Bread

I have had considerable trouble making a decent banana bread with my alternative ingredients.

The standard technique of combining the mashed banana with the wet ingredients, got me nothing but slimy batter puddles that refused to bake.

I finally overcame this problem by switching the order of ingredients. By creating a stiff dough first, I avoided the banana reducing everything to an unappealing ooze. The result (I flatter myself) is a delicious treat that tastes good, looks good and doesn’t feel gross.

Ingredients

2 3ds of a cup of oil.

2 3ds of a cup of maple syrup or honey (I used a mixture).

2 cups of self raising flour.

2 and a half cups of walnuts.

2 tablespoons of vanilla essence.

1 tablespoon of cinnamon.

Two ripe mashed bananas

Instructions.

Combine the oil, syrup, vanilla essence and cinnamon.  Mix in two cups of walnuts. Add the flour. Mix into a stiff batter. Do not overmix.

Cut in the mashed bananas. Mix just enough to combine the banana with the batter. Pour into the loaf tin and sprinkle the left-over walnuts across the top.

Put into the oven at 240c (464)  for about ten minutes or until the loaf has risen. Then drop the heat back to 220 c ( 428f) and cook for about another 45 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

IMPORTANT.

Due to the lack of eggs, this is a delicate loaf. Allow to cool for a full two hours before removing from the pan. Otherwise it will not hold together.

Tips:

 A note on bananas. Down in New Zealand, home cooks swear by the power of a black banana. As in, a banana so ripe it’s gone completely black. Allegedly, the sugars are super high in such a banana and the resulting cake (it’s called cake down there), will be superior to a banana cake baked a fresher banana.

I have an alternative theory. A great many New Zealanders, (present company included) are descended from the Scottish.

 And this thrifty race, (we gave the world Adam Smith, the father of modern economics, you’re welcome), loathe waste.

I think it is just possible this whole ‘black bananas make the best cakes’ philosophy may just be a front for New Zealanders of Scottish decent balking at the idea of throwing any food in the bin. Even bananas that have gone black on the outside and are, frankly, rotting on the inside.

So, though it may shame my Scottish heritage, I will admit here and now, I HATE black bananas.

I can’t stand them. Not even in baking. For baking, I like to use a banana that has gone soft with pretty little freckles. Soft enough to mash, nice high sugar levels and NO MUSH. Very important! And that gets me a nice, yummy result!

 And if any Scottish ghost wants to take issue with this, I will simply throw my unused mushy black bananas at them!