Banana bread with pecan & raisins
INGREDIENTS
55 gm (1/4 cup) salted butter or unsalted butter (soft and at room temperature)
180 gms (3/4 cup) sugar
2 large free-range eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract or essence
4 large ripe bananas roughly mashed
130 gms (3/4 cup) golden sultanas or raisins
60 gms 1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped
200 gms 1 (3/4 cup) cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
TOPPING:
One handful approx. ¼ cup of chopped raw pecans
2 dark brown, muscovado, or demerara sugar
¾ tsp flaky sea salt Maldon
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 180C
Line a 22 x 12cm loaf tin with baking/ parchment paper.
Using an electric hand held or stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time ensuring they are fully mixed in before adding the next one.
Add the vanilla, bananas, pecans, and sultanas and mix briefly to combine.
Sift all the dry ingredients and mix these into the wet ingredients briefly to combine. Do not over-mix.
Spread the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the topping ingredients over the surface of the banana bread.
Bake for 55 – 65 minutes until a knife comes out clean (if it’s a deep pan you may need to bake for a bit longer). For the best results loosely cover the banana bread with aluminium foil from about 10 minutes into the baking time to prevent the top of the bread from over browning. This will vary depending on your oven.
Remove the banana bread and allow to cool slightly on a wire rack.