Banana bread with salted caramel

Name: Banana bread with salted caramel
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Contemporary
Ingredients: 250g butter, softened; 200g brown sugar; 4 eggs, beaten; 400g ripe bananas (3 to 4), mashed; 125 ml buttermilk; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 300g plain flour; 2 tsp baking power; 1 tsp bicarb of soda; 1 tsp cinnamon; 1 tsp mixed spice; pinch of salt; toasted walnuts and ice-cream to serve

Jill Dupleix

November 4, 2014

Top tip ... The riper the bananas, the better the banana bread.Edwina Pickles

easyTime:1-2 hoursServes:8

This cafe favourite is deservedly popular. You can toast it and serve for brunch with cultured butter, or (as in this recipe) serve as dessert with ice-cream and salted caramel. The riper the bananas, the better the banana bread. Any leftovers (ha!) can be sliced and frozen.

Ingredients

250g butter, softened
200g brown sugar
4 eggs, beaten
400g ripe bananas (3 to 4), mashed
125 ml buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
300g plain flour
2 tsp baking power
1 tsp bicarb of soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
pinch of salt
toasted walnuts and ice-cream to serve

Salted caramel sauce

150g brown sugar
150 ml cream
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp sea salt

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C. Lightly oil a 25cm x 10cm loaf tin and line with baking paper.
2. Beat the butter and sugar together until smooth and pale. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well. Fold in the mashed bananas, buttermilk and vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarb of soda, cinnamon, mixed spice and salt and fold through without over-mixing. Spoon into the loaf tin and bake for one hour and 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out dry.
3. Combine the sauce ingredients in a small pan, bring to the boil, stirring, and simmer for three minutes. Set aside to cool and thicken.
4. Turn out the banana bread, cut into slabs and serve with ice-cream, walnuts and salted caramel.