Print This Post Print This Post

Janet’s Banana Bread/Muffins

Feb 8, 2012 by     No Comments    Posted under: A to Z of recipes, Desserts, Quick and easy recipes

Banana bread/muffins

An easy and scrummy way of using up over ripe bananas!

Serves 10 Preparation time 20 mins Cooking time 1 hour Cost per portion 0.33

Method
1. Pre – heat the oven to 180° C and lightly grease a bread loaf tin with a teaspoon of melted butter and then dust the tin lightly with a teaspoon of flour.
2. Soften the butter in a large bowl with a wooden spoon or an electric whisk, then add the sugar and whisk until it is soft and creamy.
3. Add one egg at a time to the butter and sugar mixture, whisking it on high speed with an electric whisk.
4. Mash the bananas in a separate large bowl using an electric whisk, then add the flour, almond powder, cinnamon, vanilla, zest, baking powder, and bicarbonate of soda to the mashed bananas and continue whisking on a low speed until it is all uniformly mixed in.
5. Add the banana mixture to the butter, sugar and eggs mixture – use an electric whisk on low speed to mix it all together.
6. Spoon the mixture into the greased and floured bread loaf tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 1 hour (25 mins for muffins). Check that the bread is cooked in the centre by inserting a knife into it and it should come out clean – if the knife comes out sticky, then put the tin back into the oven for another 5 or 10 minutes.
7. Remove the tin from the oven and let the bread cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack or plate. Serve warm or cold – both taste good. When it has cooled down the bread can be stored in a bread tin. (It keeps well for a couple of days.)

Ingredients
75g salted butter
150g caster sugar
2 eggs
250g plain flour
2 level teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
3 large or 4 small ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g chopped walnuts or almond powder
Grated zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon (optional)

 

 Banana Muffins

Additional information
Vanilla buttercream or cream cheese icing go well with banana bread and muffins. If you prefer muffins, then use muffin moulds instead of a bread tin; either line the moulds with paper cases or grease and flour them as with the bread tin; the cooking time for muffins is 25 to 30 minutes.

If you want a really, really  ‘bananey’ bread, add one or two more bananas to the recipe.

Over ripe bananas freeze very well, so if you have some but don’t feel like using them immediately just save them in the freezer for another day – better than chucking them out!

This recipe is from Janet – one of my closest friends who now lives in Canada. We first met in Cambridge in 1983 so we do go back a very long way. Janet has been there for me through thick and thin, even after emigrating to Canada. 27 years and seven children (between both of us!) later, we have still managed to not only keep in touch, but also to stay close despite the 5000 miles between us. I could probably write a whole book about Janet and me – it is in fact one of the things on my list of things to do!

Health Benefits of Bananas:

Bananas are a tropical herbaceous plant and are a good source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium, magnesium and fibre.
Along with other fruits and vegetables, consumption of bananas may be associated with  a reduced risk of colorectal cancer and in women, breast cancer and renal cell carcinoma.

Nutrition Information for Banana Bread:

Nutrition per 100g per portion women men child
Energy 314 kcal 319 kcal 16% 13% 18%
Protein* 5.8 g 5.9 g 13% 11% 25%
Carbohydrate* 41 g 42 g 18% 14% 19%
Total Sugars* 22 g 23 g 25% 19% 27%
Total Fat 15 g 15 g 21% 16% 21%
Polyunsaturates* 5.1 g 5.1 g
Mono Unsaturates* 3.3 g 3.4 g
Saturated Fat 4.9 g 4.9 g 25% 16% 25%
Fibre* 1.6 g 1.6 g 7% 7% 11%
Salt 0.5 g 0.5 g 9% 9% 13%

* Percentage Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet for an average adult.
Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Allergens: Wheat, Gluten, Nuts, Milk, Egg

Cost per recipe: £ 3.30
Cost per portion: £0.33

We would love to hear from you about this recipe!