Who doesn’t love banana bread? The key is the ripeness of the bananas: you want them as ripe as they can possibly get, so this is a brilliant way to use up bananas that are too old to eat fresh. I love the peanut butter here, and you’ll get a better taste when you use the best quality you can get your hands on. The bread lasts about a week and freezes really well, too.
INGREDIENTS:
You will need a 900g (2lb) loaf tin.
110g (4oz) butter, plus more for the tin
3 tablespoons peanut butter, ideally smooth
150g (5½oz) light brown soft sugar
2 eggs
190g (6¾oz) plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 very ripe bananas, peeled and
well-mashed, plus 1 for the top
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
METHOD:
1. Preheat the oven to 170°C fan (375°F), Gas Mark 5. Butter a 900g (2lb) loaf tin and line it with baking paper.
2. Beat together the butter, peanut butter and sugar in a large bowl with electric beaters at high speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined, beating well between each addition. Now add the flour,baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon and continue to mix. Lastly add the mashed bananas and vanilla extract and beat again, just until everything is combined well.
3. Spoon the batter into the prepared tin. Peel the extra banana, halve it lengthways and place the halves on top of the batter.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, until golden in colour and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
5. Once the banana bread is ready, let it cool in the tin for 10 minutes
