Recipe: Banana Bread

Even though chocolate anything is my favourite dessert, I love having a loaf of banana bread around the house for an afternoon pick-me-up. It's also my favourite thing to bake for morning or afternoon tea with friends and family.

I am always let down when I buy banana bread because I find store-bought or even sometimes cafe-bought banana bread can be quite dry and not banana-y enough for me!

I have two versions of this recipe, one for my fellow sweet-tooth people and one for those who want to watch how much sugar they are eating. I have included both amounts in the recipe below. If you are a sweet tooth, I highly recommend adding that little bit of extra sugar. However, if you prefer your baked goods to not be too sweet, use the lesser amount for a heavenly, moist banana bread.

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Serves: 12

Preparation Time: 25 minutes

Cooking Time: 1.25 hours

Ingredients

1 large egg

1.25 cups caster sugar for less sweet version (1.5 cups for sweeter version)

200g natural greek yoghurt

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tbsp vanilla essence

4 large ripe bananas*

2 cups plain flour

1.25 tsp bicarbonate soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

*I use bananas that I have previously frozen and defrosted in the microwave because for whatever reason I can never eat all the bananas I purchase before they ripen too much!

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan-forced). Grease base and sides of a 21cm x11cm loaf tin.

2. Beat egg and 3/4 cup of sugar together with electric beaters on high speed until mixture forms a ribbon when beater is lifted.

3. Add approximately a third of the yoghurt and the remaining sugar. Beat until well combined.

4. Slowly mix in oil on a low setting. Add vanilla extract and remaining yoghurt. Beat until well combined. Add bananas and beat again until well combined. Mix

5. Sift together the flour, bicarb soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together in a large bowl. Pour wet mixture into the dry mixture. Fold gently until mixtures are well combined.

6. Pour mixture into tin and bake for 1 1/4 hours, or until a skewer comes out clean when tested. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool further.

Serving suggestions: This banana recipe does not need any butter to soften it; however, I cannot go past a smear of slightly salted Lurpak to serve with it. After a few days (if I haven't managed to eat it all by then), I put a slice in my slam toaster to warm slightly and make the outsides a little crispy.