Recipes

Coffee Banana Bread

Banana bread is one of the easiest sweet treats to rustle up, especially if you have some of the fruit leftover that is past its best day.

The addition of coffee makes it moist without becoming too dense and stodgy, and the flavours work really well together. It finishes off the banana taste and adds a nice richness and roastiness.

You can add some chocolate chips, walnuts or cinnamon if you want a bit of a taste twist. The bread can also be served warm with some ice cream and sauce to elevate it a bit.

Ingredients

175g unsalted butter, softened
175g brown sugar
2 free-range eggs, beaten
175g self-raising flour
3 very ripe bananas (about 250g/9oz total weight)
100ml/1 cup black coffee, cooled

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3. Line the base and sides of an 8 x 5in loaf tin with baking paper
Beat the butter and sugars until light. This can be done with a hand mixer or by hand
Add the coffee to the butter and sugar, before adding the eggs, and combine
Mix in the self-raising flour slowly so it doesn’t go too thick all at once
Peel the bananas and place into a separate bowl. Mash with a fork until they are still chunky but can be folded into the flour mix. Add to the flour but don’t overmix
Scoop the cake batter into the prepared loaf tin. Dust with a little sugar or top with extra sliced banana before baking if desired
Bake for around 1 hour, covering the cake with foil if the top starts to darken too quickly. A cake tester, skewer, or toothpick inserted into the centre of the loaf should come out clean

Notes

*Add any extras such as chocolate chips, walnuts or spices before adding the flour

Always ensure that the coffee is at room temperature or it will cook the eggs