The Best Banana Bread Recipe
In the past 10 weeks, it feels as though everyone and their granny has been baking banana bread - and I’m no exception! Banana bread was one of the first recipes I ever made, and something I’ve made so many times over the years that it’s become second nature. I’ve used so many different recipes - and had extremely varied results (one that burnt so badly to the bottom of the pan that the whole tin went in the bin).
So my mission over lockdown was to find my ultimate recipe. I took a recipe of my aunts and tweaked it and tweaked it until I was totally happy. It only took me ten weeks - and a lot of banana bread batches! I like a banana bread to be just that - a bread. No chocolate chips for me! If you fancy making the softest, tastiest banana bread of your life, then follow along with my recipe (you’re welcome).
Ingredients
150g soft, unsalted butter
2 eggs
135g soft light brown sugar
135g soft dark brown sugar
2 medium peeled bananas
a squeeze of lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
280g plain flour
1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 level teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
3/4 teaspoon of cinnamon (more or less, depending on taste)
If you don’t have both types of sugar, the cake can easily be made with 270g of light brown sugar, but I always find when I add the dark sugar that my cakes are so much softer.
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C, and grease and line a loaf tin.
Cream together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one, beating after each one.
In a separate bowl, break up the peeled bananas and add the lemon juice. Give them a good mash, then add in the vanilla extract and mix. Add the banana mixture to the butter mixture and combine well.
Measure out the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and sift into the banana mixture. fold in with a rubber spatula or a metal spoon until totally combined. The mixture should be dropping consistency, but not too runny.
Pour the mixture into a loaf tin and bake for around 1 hour. check with a metal skewer, and if it comes out clean your loaf is ready! Cool the cake in the tin on a wire rack.
My favourite way to eat banana bread is warm with lots of butter. It’s a perfect breakfast treat, or a teatime snack! I’m off to make another one…
