Banana & Walnut Loaf Recipe

It is good to have a foolproof recipe for using up ripe bananas – and this Banana & Walnut Loaf is one of those. I always seem to have some in the freezer but this year I have a LOT of bananas. My Lady Finger Banana trees started producing fruit and I was concerned that I might get a couple of hundred bananas all ripening at once.

Thankfully they freeze well and I grouped them into lots that were roughly the same size as 2 standard bananas, peeled and sliced them, and packed the pieces into ziplock bags for the freezer.

100g softened butter
140g caster sugar
1 beaten egg
225g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 very ripe bananas (standard size equivalent) – can use frozen
85g chopped walnuts
50ml milk

Heat oven to 180C.

Line a loaf tin with baking paper.

In a large bowl, mix together the butter, caster sugar and egg, then slowly mix in flour and baking powder.

Peel, then mash the bananas. Mix everything together, including the nuts.

Pour mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 1 hr, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack before removing from the loaf tin.

The loaf freezes well so is great to have on hand for when guests come round. Slice it before you freeze it, then simply pull out the number of slices you need. I heat them in the microwave to defrost and warm through before serving.

Serve spread with butter for afternoon tea or, for a more decadent dessert, topped with ice cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce.