The Very Best Banana Bread
I’ve been tinkering with this recipe for years, and the lockdown gave me the time and patience to perfect it. Because of the panic buying that had been going on, the only plain flour I could get was wholemeal and now I’ll be using wholemeal flour instead of regular flour pretty much every time- it really adds something really special to the flavour and it’s an easy win as it’s better for you too.
This banana bread is super quick and easy to prepare, and after just an hour or so in the oven, you’re left with a delicious afternoon treat, breakfast accompaniment or elevenses snack.
What you’ll need…
120g butter, plus extra for greasing the tin
230g golden caster sugar
2 free-range eggs
3 ripe bananas broken into chunks
1 tsp good quality vanilla extract
100ml milk (I use oat milk)
300g wholemeal plain flour (normal plain flour is ok too but wholemeal adds a really nice depth of flavour)
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
75g roughly chopped walnuts (keep about 8 to decorate). You can also add in chocolate chunks tossed in flour to make it a real treat. (don’t use chips)
1 tbs brown sugar to sprinkle on top
Six simple steps to your new favourite banana bread
1 - Preheat your oven to 180 degrees, or 160 fan and grease and line a standard loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
2 - Cream together your butter and sugar until they’re fully mixed and look light and fluffy. I use a stand mixer with the beater attachment, but you can just as easily use a bowl and wooden spoon with a bit of elbow grease.
3 - Then add in the vanilla, banana chunks and eggs and mix until combined – you want there to still have some banana chunks in the mixture so that there are gooey bits when it’s cooked. If you’re mixing by hand, you might want to mash up the bananas a bit first. Gently mix in the milk so it doesn’t splash out the bowl.
4 - Combine the wholemeal flour, salt, and bicarb in a bowl and then gently fold into your wet mixture until fully combined.
5 - Lastly mix in your chopped walnuts and put the gooey banana batter into your prepared loaf tin. Top with the whole walnuts and sprinkle over the brown sugar before putting into the center of your oven for about an hour. The brown sugar will help give it a nice crunchy top and give the walnuts a delicious candied nut taste.
6 - After an hour, remove from the oven and test with a toothpick. If it comes out clean it’s ready, if not, pop it back in the oven for another 5 minutes few minutes until it’s done.
Leave to cool for half an hour in the tin and then finish cooling on a rack for as long as you can. I usually last about 20 minutes before tearing off a slice but it’s better if you can wait a bit longer - you’ll find it much easier to slice when it’s properly cooled. For an extra delicious treat why not try spreading on some Nutella or Biscoff spread?