Not another Banana Loaf recipe??

views the best pictures

Does the world really need another banana loaf recipe?

Well, my blog, my rules, and I says you do.

In preparation for making my Random Recipe entry the other week, I needed soft bananas. Unusual to actually plan to have overripe bananas - normally, banana cake in one form or another is the result of an unscheduled glut, rather than the reverse, but I didn't read the miscalculated how many bananas I would need for the Harry Eastwood recipe, so didn't upset the culinary world order too much, and ended up making another banana loaf using the left over overripe bananas. 

I have been drinking rather a lot of lapsang souchong tea recently. Black. No sugar, no lemon. Get me, with my poncy tea habits. It all came about as the result of trying to find an acceptable calorie free beverage for my 5:2 diet days (consigned to the cupboard under the stairs for the time being), and I'm quite addicted. I usually have a mug of it at breakfast, which often features banana (the breakfast). While contemplating additional banana loaves, a strange thought came over me, or rather a chain of strange thoughts which resulted in me wondering how I could incorporate the flavour of the lapsang into a banana loaf.

If you've been having the same thoughts, you are not alone, and I'm here to satisfy your thirst for knowledge. Don't say I never do anything for you. I have to say that this didn't really give me as strong a flavour of the tea as I wanted, but there's a certain satisfactory smokiness to this loaf that I really like. It also helpfully uses up any tinned caramel you might have hanging around. Not as much as the Banana Caramel Loaf, but, you know, enough.

Another Banana Loaf

130g raisins
100ml hot strong lapsang souchong tea
175g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder 1/2 trsp bicarb
1/2 tsp salt
125g butter
100g tinned caramel
2 large eggs
approx 300g overripe bananas (peeled weight)
1tsp vanilla extract

Soak the raisins in the tea for an hour or so - longer if you have time. Line a 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C and gently melt the butter and caramel together. Set aside to cool while you sort out the rest of the ingredients.

Sift together the dry ingredients. Drain the raisins.

In a large bowl, beat together the melted butter and caramel with a wooden spoon, then beat in the banana. Yes, it's sloppy, but go with it.  

Beat in the eggs.

Stir in the raisins and vanilla extract, then lastly, fold in the dry ingredients, a third at a time.

Scrape the micture into your lined loaf tin and bake for between 1hr - 1hr15 mins till a skewer/cake tester comes out clean.

Leave to cool in the tin. 

Gratifyingly, this has gone down particularly well with the kids. Take note.