Settlers Banana Bread

I actually don’t do that much baking, and not having much of a sweet tooth, Lowell  rarely gets dessert. He’s happy to help himself to a yoghurt from the fridge though. He doesn’t eat enough veg in my opinion though he does like fruit. He has a particularly disarming way of eating bananas that looks as if he’s going down on them. He’s oblivious to this and I don’t want to tell him in case he stops doing it.

3 large over-ripe bananas, mashed

125g butter

175g soft brown sugar

2 medium eggs, beaten

250g plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

¾ tsp salt

3 tbsp plain yoghurt

This version of the recipe is from the Imperial African Cookery Book and it’s from Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). I’ve chosen it above a dozen other versions of this recipe purely for its African heritage. I’m not clear whether it originated there or was taken there by settlers. No matter. It’s delicious and Lowell loves it. I do owe him the odd sweet treat after subjecting him to all the veggies.

The bananas need to be more than just ripe – if the skins are covered in black spots and the banana is slightly softer than you might like to eat it, then it’s perfect for this.

Pre-heat the oven to 180. Cream the butter and sugar and add the eggs. Cream means mix until the two are combined into a creamy mass, without obvious lumps. I’m pointing this out as Lowell wants to help rather than be left out. Sieve the flour with the soda and salt into a separate bowl and add to the creamed butter & eggs, then add a spoonful of banana and yoghurt. Mix well and add another spoonful of flour, then more banana and yoghurt, and so on until all combined.

Turn into a greased loaf tin and bake for 1 hour. This would give you plenty of time to listen to Radio 4’s Afternoon Play – one of my favourites of 2011 was (appropriately) Comrades, Do You Like Banana, about a teenage boy in the last throes of Ceausescu’s Romania. A comedy in which his twin brother, dropped on his head on the icy hospital steps as a baby, is forever trying to kill him.

Check it’s cooked by inserting a skewer, which should come out dry. My oven is a little slow. When cooked, cool and enjoy with a strong pot of Yorkshire tea. Expect refills and second helpings.