Spiced Banana Bread Loaf Recipe

by Mima Sinclair on Monday, 7 January 2013

A real show stopper full of sweet spices and a gooey chocolate topping

  • Serves 10

  • Prep time 30 mins

  • Cooking time 7 mins

    5

  • Skill level Easy

  • Freeze yes
  • Prepare ahead yes

Ingredients

  • 100g (4oz) sultanas
  • 50ml (2fl oz) rum
  • 185g (6½oz) plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp bicarb
  • pinch salt
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 125g (4½oz) unsalted butter, softened
  • 150g (5oz) light soft brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 4 small very ripe bananas
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the topping:

  • 175ml (6fl oz) double cream
  • 40g (1½oz) unsalted butter
  • 200g (7oz) Green Blacks maya chocolate, finely chopped
  • ½ tsp edible gold glitter to dust

Tip

If you are making this for kids top with milk chocolate and scatter with dried banana rounds

Preparation

  1. In a small pan pour the rum over the sultanas and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave to soak.

  2. Preheat the oven to 170C/150C fan/325F/Gas 3. Place flour, baking powder, bicarb, salt and cinnamon in large bowl and combine well.

  3. In a separate bowl mix the butter and sugar and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one by one beating well after each addition. Then stir through the mashed bananas, sultanas & rum and the vanilla extract.

  4. Fold in the flour and pour into a 900g (2lb) loaf tin. Bake for  1-1¼  hours until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

  5. To make the icing heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan to just boiling then take off the heat. Add the finely chopped chocolate and leave for 5 minutes to melt before gently stirring into the cream. Leave to cool and thicken slightly before pouring over the cooled cake and sprinkling with edible gold glitter.