So here it is, courtesy of Nigella Lawson, great results every time and no more wasted bananas going off in the fruit dish! It's deliciously moist and keeps really well, not that it lasts very long!
Ingredients
- 100 grams sultanas
- 75 ml dark rum (or bourbon)
- 175 grams plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 125 grams unsalted butter (melted)
- 150 grams caster sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 4 small very ripe bananas (mashed)
- 60 grams chopped walnuts
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Put the sultanas and rum or bourbon in a smallish saucepan and bring to the boil.
- Remove from the heat, cover and leave for an hour if you can, or until the sultanas have absorbed most of the liquid, then drain.
- Preheat the oven to 170ºC/gas mark 3/325ºF and get started on the rest. Put the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt in a medium-sized bowl and, using your hands or a wooden spoon, combine well.
- In a large bowl, mix the melted butter and sugar and beat until blended. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the mashed bananas. Then, with your wooden spoon, stir in the walnuts, drained sultanas and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture, a third at a time, stirring well after each bit. Scrape into a loaf tin (23 x 13 x 7cm / 9 x 5 x 3 inches) and bake in the middle of the oven for 1-1¼ hours. When it's ready, an inserted toothpick or fine skewer should come out cleanish. Leave in the tin on a rack to cool, and eat thickly or thinly sliced, as you prefer.
If you want to turn this into a chocolate banana cake, replace 25g of flour with 25g of cocoa powder ( not drinking chocolate ) and add 100g of dark chocolate chips.
Enjoy!