I am crying as I write this.
Lol, jk, but this is a total thing of mouth beauty and I have to share it with you. It’s liquorishish yet buttery, everything that’s good about an autumnal oven. And it’s perfect for using up those bananas which you bought in good faith but have somehow become scattered around the house, slowly and silently browning.
Banana Bread (serves 1 if you’re quick enough, otherwise makes 10 or so slices)
4 medium-large ripe or overripe bananas
80g butter (plus some to grease the tin)
200g dark brown sugar (this is v v important, it raises the flavour level to MAGIC)
1 large egg
1 and ½ tbsp vanilla paste
1 tsp bicarb of soda
Pinch of salt
180g spelt flour (I know this is a fussy ball-ache, and back into the realms of Waitrose, but I have *two bags* in my cupboard from when I keep meaning to make Hugh F-W recipes then never get round to it. It is TOTALLY worth it)
Preheat the oven to 170c fan. I don’t know what that is for any other cooking temperature system.
Vaguely mash the bananas in a big bowl. They should be ripe enough that it doesn’t take much effort, so you can stop and leave it quite rough, with lots of chunks in. Melt the butter and add to the bananas, along with the dark brown sugar, the egg which you’ve briefly beaten in the melted butter bowl (why make more washing up for yourself), the vanilla paste, the bicarb, the salt, and finally the flour. Mix well, so there are no clumps of flour left.
Pour into a buttered loaf tin, and cook for between 60-70 minutes. The fractionally lower temp but longer time means the loaf is cooked all the way through but the outer layer is *almost* burned, so has a beautiful treacly flavour.
It’s *so* good, it doesn’t even need butter.
I know.