Nici Wickes: Banana, walnut, and sultana loaf cake

Spring is a funny old time for fresh fruit. The apples and pears have been in cool store forever, rhubarb can be temperamental and scarce, and the berries and stone fruit are not nearly ready, so we’re left with the trusty banana.   

I love my banana cake studded with walnuts and sultanas but you can also leave them out if you prefer.  

 

Ingredients 

125g butter, softened  

½ cup sugar  

2 medium eggs  

2 large, ripe bananas, broken into pieces  

Drizzle of golden syrup or maple syrup  

70g walnut pieces   

½ cup sultanas   

2 cups self-raising flour   

½ tsp cinnamon   

¼ tsp baking soda  

2 tbsps plain Greek yoghurt  

Splash of milk if needed – see note  

Method 

Heat oven to 180 C. Grease and line a large loaf tin.  

In a standing mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  

Add a drizzle of golden/maple syrup, the banana pieces, walnuts and sultanas to the creamed mixture. Sift in the self-raising flour, baking soda and cinnamon and gently beat or stir to combine. Don’t over mix but make sure there are no remaining pockets of flour either. Stir in the yoghurt. If it’s too stiff a splash of milk might be useful too.  

Scrape the batter into the tin. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when placed in the centre. Leave to cool.  

 

Note 

Having made this loaf cake many times I can attest that sometimes the batter is a little stiff, other times not so. It’s likely due to the size of the eggs, the variance in the temperature of the butter or the thickness of whatever yoghurt I’m using. I aim for a dropping consistency so if it errs on the stiff side, stir in a splash of milk to make it more manageable. 

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