Ingredients
Batter
- 4very ripe bananas, blackened, about 400 g peeled
- 120 gunsalted butter, melted
- 150 gsoft brown sugar
- 2eggs
- 1 tspvanilla extract
- 220 gplain flour
- 1 tspbicarbonate of soda
- ½ tspbaking powder
- ½ tspsalt
- 1 tspground cinnamon
- ¼ tspfreshly grated nutmeg
Optional
- 80 gchopped walnuts or grated coconut
- 2 tbspdark rum
Directions
- Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F) and line a 900 g loaf tin.
- Mash the bananas thoroughly with a fork, leaving a little texture. They must be genuinely overripe — skins black, flesh soft and fragrant. Yellow bananas have neither the sugar nor the flavour and are the commonest reason banana bread tastes of nothing.
- Whisk the melted butter with the brown sugar, then the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and rum if using.
- Fold in the mashed banana until the mixture is evenly streaked, without beating air into it.
- Sift the flour, bicarbonate, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg over the wet mixture and fold in with a spatula until only just combined. A few streaks of flour are fine. Beating it smooth develops gluten and gives a tough, rubbery loaf.
- Fold in the nuts or coconut if using, and scrape into the tin.
- Bake 50–55 minutes, until well risen, deeply browned and a skewer in the centre comes out with a crumb or two but no wet batter. Cover with foil at 35 minutes if it is colouring fast.
- Cool in the tin 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack. It is better the next day, once the crumb has settled and the banana flavour has come forward.
Technique
- Overripe bananas are the whole recipe. If yours are not ready, bake them in their skins at 175°C (350°F) for 15 minutes until black and let them cool.
- Fold, do not beat. This is a quick bread and gluten is the enemy.
- Bicarbonate needs the acid in the banana to work, which is why both raising agents appear.
Substitutions
- Oil in place of melted butter gives a moister loaf that keeps longer.
- Half wholemeal flour, for a nuttier crumb.
Variations
- With grated fresh coconut folded through, common across the Caribbean.
- Baked as muffins for 22 minutes instead of a loaf.
History
Made from the bananas that became Saint Lucia’s main export after the 1950s, when the fruit replaced sugar as the island’s cash crop.
Frequently asked questions
What is Banana bread?
Banana bread is a bread & pastry from Saint Lucia: moist loaf from the island’s banana crop. Made from the bananas that became Saint Lucia’s main export after the 1950s, when the fruit replaced sugar as the island’s cash crop.
How long does Banana bread take to make?
Banana bread takes 20 min of preparation and 55 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 loaf. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Banana bread?
Yes, within limits. Oil in place of melted butter gives a moister loaf that keeps longer. Half wholemeal flour, for a nuttier crumb.
What is the most important thing to get right in Banana bread?
Mash the bananas thoroughly with a fork, leaving a little texture. They must be genuinely overripe — skins black, flesh soft and fragrant. Yellow bananas have neither the sugar nor the flavour and are the commonest reason banana bread tastes of nothing.
