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Banana And Lavender Loaf

7 Jul 2016

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 60 minutes
Serves: 8 small loaves or one large
Ingredients:
  • 4 small ripe bananas, mashed
  • 100g chopped mixed nuts
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon of lavender extract
  • 150g sugar
  • 125g butter, melted
  • œ teaspoon salt
  • œ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 175g plain flour
  • 60g sultanas

    Recipe Method

    1. Preheat the oven to 170C/Gas 3. In a bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt and combine well with a spoon.

    2. In a mixer, or a large bowl, pour in the melted butter and sugar and beat or mix well. Beat in the eggs one at a time then add the mashed bananas.

    3. Next stir in the mixed nuts, sultanas and the lavender extract. Slowly add the flour mixture stirring or mixing well.

    4. Butter your baking tins or line them with paper inserts and pour the mixture in and pop into the oven for 1 hour.

    5. After an hour insert a cake tester into your loaf to check it is cooked or if you don’t have one of these use a skewer and if it comes out clean then your cake is ready.

    NICKI'S TUPPENCEWORTH

    The smell of lavender is one that instantly transports me to a summer's day and I am a sucker for any dessert that includes this extract in its ingredients - shortbread and icecream are both the better for a little drop of this gorgeous pale purple herb if you ask me!  

    We always like to check where we can send people for their ingredients and I happen to know that Diane at Provender Brown carries good quality lavender essence - do let us know of other suppliers in Perthshire. 

    Leave your comments here and please do share this with your friends! You can also share your photographs and ideas with us. We'd love to see them. As always, tag them #PerthLoveFest and we'll scatter them around our own social media.

    Nicki 

    Hi Everyone,

    This week my recipe has been inspired by the lavender fields of Provence and the hope of some good summer weather to come.

    I love the smell of lavender and it’s calming and soothing properties and by adding lavender into this banana loaf recipe I think you get that delicious summer calm feeling.

    This loaf is moist with a lot of substance and is a perfect with your cuppa. It really does melt in the mouth. The recipe is so easy to follow and comes out perfect every time.

    When adding the bananas make sure they are ripe and easy to mash…. This makes it great to bake when you have bananas in your fruit bowl that need using up.

    If you wanted to make this loaf with a bit more sweetness then you could always add chocolate chips to the recipe, an addition that always goes down well with my boys!

    It keeps well in an airtight container and I think always tastes better after a day.

    I used mini loaf cases from Marks and Spencer’s but most supermarkets stock these if you wanted to make smaller individual loaves like I did.

    Gill x