Banana bread has always been, to me, one of those nostalgic foods that reminds me of my beloved gran, simply because she made the best banana bread I have ever tasted. And I mean ever.

So today I decided to share my partner’s gran’s recipe with you, because unfortunately I haven’t got my gran’s recipe – it’s holed up somewhere in Botswana in one of her cookbooks she left to my dad. But, trust me, this one tastes just as magical. So, here goes:

TRADITIONAL STYLE BANANA BREAD

METHOD

01. Preheat your oven at 180°C and heavily grease your loaf tin with butter to ensure your loaf does not stick.

02. Add your softened butter – you can either leave it out to soften or pop it in the microwave for 15 seconds – and sugar to your bowl and combine well.

03. Next add the eggs, one at a time, and beat thoroughly until mixed well.

04. Mash your bananas to your liking – I like mine a little chunky – and add along with the vanilla extract.

05. Measure out your flour, baking powder and bicarb and add to your mixture a little at a time, mixing well to ensure there are no lumps.

06. Lastly, slowly start to add your milk to your mixture, stirring as you pour.

07. Now that your mixture is complete, you can add your batter to your greased bread tin and pop it in the oven for one hour. You’re going need to keep an eye on it because depending on the size of your tin – mine is huge! – it may not be cooked all the way through once the hour is up.  So after an hour stick a knife through the middle and if it’s sticky with batter when you pull it out you will need to put it back in the oven for another 10 – 15 minutes and repeat if necessary.

09. Once it’s cooked all the way through, take it out the oven and place the tin on a cooling rack until it’s completely cooled. When it is cooled enough you will notice that your loaf has pulled away from the sides of the tin, this means it’s ready to be taken out. Take it out by running a knife around the sides, then it should simply pop out. (Confession: the first banana bread I made smelled so delicious that I did not wait long enough for it to cool. Instead I turned my tin upside down, gave it a little shake, and my banana bread literally crumbled. Oops! I really need to learn more patience!).

Voila! You’re done and can now enjoy a piece (or two) of delicious banana bread. I enjoy mine warmed up and spread with salty butter – delish! And if you’d like to dress yours up a bit, why not add in some sultanas, dates or chopped pecan nuts to the batter before baking?

♥ Claire