I think this might just be my favourite banana bread. A big statement to throw around, but I really think it is.
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Sometimes the tastiest things are made from leftovers and that's the case here. I had some left over dried apricots and blanched almonds from making the Christmas cake and two incredibly brown bananas sitting on the worktop so I decided to throw them together in a loaf.
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The loaf has a good balance of flavours and textures: soft crumb, warm spices, juicy apricots and crunchy almonds. It's definitely a cake I want to bake again.
The loaf has a good balance of flavours and textures: soft crumb, warm spices, juicy apricots and crunchy almonds. It's definitely a cake I want to bake again.
Almond and apricot banana bread
Recipe adapted from Hummingbird Bakery's banana bread
250g soft light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 large very ripe bananas, about 225g in weight
280g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
140g butter/margarine (I used Vitalite to keep the cake dairy free)
75g mixture of chopped apricots and chopped blanched almonds (although I may add more next time)
25g ground almonds
a handful of flaked almonds to scatter on top
Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3 and grease and line a 23 x 13cm loaf tin with greaseproof paper. Beat together the sugar and eggs until well incorporated. Mash up the bananas and beat them into the sugar/egg mixture. Add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ground almonds and spices and mix thoroughly. Melt the butter and beat it into the mixture until everything is combined. Stir in the chopped almonds and apricot pieces. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and scatter with a handful of flaked almonds. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for roughly 1 hour until firm to touch and a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes before turning out to finish cooling on a wire rack.