Cakes for a picnic part 2: Banana Bread

This moist Banana Bread tastes amazing and is a perfect cake for picnics, being easy to transport and no fuss to eat. This wonderful spiced recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook has become a real favourite with us, it's very easy to rustle up if you fancy something simple, and can be stored in the freezer and defrosted whenever you need it.

Recipe

Serves 8

Adapted from the recipe given in the lovely Hummingbird Bakery Cookery book by Tarek Malouf.

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2 eggs

200g peeled bananas (approx 4 small ones)

270g dark muscovado sugar

140g unsalted butter

280g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

2 tbsps demerara sugar to decorate, optional

1. Turn the oven to 170C (150C fan ovens), and line and grease a 2 lb loaf tin.

2. Mash the bananas with a fork, and put to one side.

3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together. Then add the mashed banana and mix well.

4. Throw in the dry ingredients: flour, bicarb of soda, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger. Stir until the mixture is smooth and combined.

5. Meanwhile, heat the butter over a low heat until just melted, before leaving to cool for a momemnt. Then pour the melted butter into the batter and mix thoroughly.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin. Sprinkle demerara sugar ontop before baking in the oven for approx 50 minutes - 1 hour. You'll know it's done when the top bounces back when you press it with a finger, and a skewer comes out clean.

7. Let the cake cool in the tin for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. This cake tastes even better after a day or two, so it's a good one to make in advance for a picnic.

This cake was idly baked while listening to the news on BBC Radio 4