A banana loaf is one of the easiest and tastiest cakes to make. I can’t imagine what a bad banana loaf recipe will taste like because I don’t believe there is such a thing. This one is especially easy because it manifests courtesy of a bowl, fork, and measuring jug. Dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, wet ingredients in a measuring jug and mashed bananas in another bowl. How is that for easy!
A word on bananas. Use the most over-ripe bananas you can get. The ones that are blackened, squiggly-soft and deeply fragrant with the scent of banana. The riper the banana, the sweeter the taste.
Ingredients for loaf
- 280 g cake flour
- 10 ml baking powder
- 5 ml bicarbonate of soda
- 3 ml salt
- 5 ml ground cinnamon
- 160 g sugar (brown or white)
- 5 ml grated orange (optional)
- 2 eggs
- 100 ml milk or yogurt
- 125 ml vegetable oil
- 5 ml vanilla
- 3 large bananas mashed. About a cup full of mashed bananas.
Method to make loaf
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
- Grease and line the bottom of a large loaf pan. (24 cm x 12cm)
- In a large bowl, add the cake flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cinnamon, orange rind (optional) and sugar and lightly mix together.
- In a measuring jug, add the eggs, milk/yogurt, vegetable oil and vanilla and whisk together until well combined.
- Using a fork, mash the bananas to a form a loose mixture.
- Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and using the fork, lightly mix together.
- Add the bananas and mix quickly to combine.
- Be as light as possible with the mixing – be done in a minute. No need to over-beat this mixture.
- Turn over into baking pan.
- Slice a few pieces of banana and add to the tops of the cake to add a decorative look. (optional)
- Bake for 50-55 minutes until well risen, deeply golden brown and coming away from the sides of the pan.
- Leave to cool for about 5 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to completely cool.
