Tuesday 3 May 2011

Banana fruit loaf


This is another cake from the same book as the rather delicious Kedleston Marmalade Cake. So although it was a bit of a naughty Christmas self-present at least I've used it more than some of my other books (and yes, two recipes made does constitute more than I've made from the majority of my cookery books, and I'm hanging my head in shame as I admit this!)


I really enjoy making loaves like these. Not too taxing to make, last well in the cake tin and you can just cut off a slice whenever you fancy to accompany a cup of tea or coffee. Unpretentious goodness, I'm always glad to be able to add another fruit loaf cake to my repertoire.

This one is particularly good because you don't need to remember to soak the dried fruit the night before (as with some of the tea loaves I make) but the fruit still seems to plump up during the baking, becoming juicy and delicious.



Banana and Raisin Cake (adapted from The National Trust Teatime Baking Book)
Ingredients
75g softened butter
100g light brown soft sugar
3tbsp/40g honey (mine was crystallised, but started off clear!)
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
225g self raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
225g raisins

Method
- Preheat the oven to gas 4/180C. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin.
- Cream the butter until light and fluffy.
- Add the honey, eggs and bananas and beat well.
- Mix together the flour, spice, bicarb and raisins and fold into banana mixture.
- Mix well then bake for 1-1 1/4 hours until a skewer comes out clean.

From memory, I creamed butter and sugar, added everything else but the raisins, beat until smooth and then folded the raisins in.


This was a delicious, moist cake, with a very subtle hint of banana, a slightly more pronounced spice flavour and juicy, plump raisins in a tasty cake. I'll defnintely add this one to the repertoire and make it again. I think it would be even better spread with a generous amount of butter, preferably one with little salt crystals in it.... Yum!

7 comments:

Maria♥ said...

I should hang my head down in shame too, I have over 200 cookbooks and haven't baked or cooked from the majority of them!

You just can't beat a fruit loaf and I love the sound of this one with the addition of banana.

Maria
x

MissCakeBaker said...

Banana loaf is one of my favourite cakes. Loaf cakes are definitely the best!

Anonymous said...

I think there would be a terribly large amount of people that have wonderful cookbooks and don't utilise them to there full potential...(small cough), that's me too.
I've got some bananas that need tending to, I might make this. Thanks C.

Choclette said...

We're all guilty on the cookbook front. I did go through a phase of "if you don't use it, get rid of it" but that was mostly because I had such a tiny space. Now I've got a bit more, so I fill it! I love reading them though, even if I don't necessarily cook much from them.

Like the sound of honey in this loaf, which looks utterly delicious.

Anonymous said...

Sigh...I don't eat bananas, but you've certainly done a fine job with this cake, C! :)

Chele said...

Woo hoo! We have 4 rather sad looking banana's in the fruit bowl and I was searching through all my recipes today trying to find someting to use them up in, all the recipes seemed to require something (ingredient or energy!) that I just didn;t have. Will be giving this a go tomorrow for sure ;0)

Caroline said...

Maria - I don't dare count my cookery books. I'm pretty sure I have a couple I've never even opened!

MissCakeBaker - loaf cakes are definitely a good way to go!

Cityhippyfarmgirl - let me know how you go if you bake it!

Choclette - thanks! Yes, I do enjoy reading my cookbooks, even if I don't make enough from them. So they aren't entirely a waste of money and space!

Celia - thank you!

Chele - I look forward to finding out how you get on with it!

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