Banana Bread

I don't know about you, but at home we often practice using leftovers. And no, I don't mean making enough food for an army and then spending a week eating the same thing… Yes, that happens to us too! I mean preparing delicious recipes with ingredients that aren't at their best, like this fantastic banana bread I'm bringing you today.

I'm sure we've all bought bananas and then everyone at home decides they don't want to eat them that week… and the poor things sit in the fruit bowl looking very unappetizing. Well, this banana bread is definitely the solution!!

Yes, of course you can make it with freshly bought, perfect bananas, but it will undoubtedly be much tastier with ripe bananas, much sweeter. Mothers have always said that the ugly part of the banana, and by extension the whole banana when it's 'ugly', is the tastiest… right?

Although we call it banana bread, it's really a cake made with baking powder, though it does have a dense, very moist and juicy texture, with an intense and delicious banana flavor, of course, and cinnamon, and the lovely touch given by the walnuts and ginger.

It's also incredibly easy to make, since we don't even have to beat the eggs with the sugar — just mash the bananas (a fork is enough), mix the dry and wet ingredients, pour into a pan and bake. Tell me that's not easy? And the smell while it bakes is absolutely delicious!!

This time I used one of my favorite pans, the wavy rectangular pan from Emile Henry, which besides being beautiful ensures even baking and perfect unmolding, if I want to unmold it of course, because it's so pretty that I usually serve my cakes with the pan right on the table… I have to show off this beauty!

Wavy rectangular pan from Emile Henry, Revol porcelain salad bowl, cup for flour from T&G, Pallarès carbon steel knives, Mediterrànea glass bottle and Caractère porcelain plates from Revol

Ingredients

• 250 g flour
• 150 g brown sugar
• 400 g peeled bananas
• 2 eggs
• 100 ml oil
• 50 g walnuts
• 1 teaspoon baking powder (like Royal)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground or grated ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 whole banana for garnish

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180º.
2. Start by mixing in a bowl the sifted flour, the sugar, the baking powder, the baking soda, the salt, the cinnamon and the ginger (if using fresh ginger you can grate it with a Microplane grater, it works perfectly) and set aside.
3. Next, place the bananas, already peeled, in a bowl and mash them with a fork or even a potato ricer, then set aside.
4. In another bowl beat the eggs, add the oil and the reserved banana purée and mix well.
5. Add the dry ingredients you set aside (flour, sugar, etc…) and the walnuts to this mixture and stir without overbeating, just until everything is well combined.
6. Using a brush grease the pan and pour in the batter.
7. Cut in half the banana reserved for decoration and place it on top of the batter.
8. Bake at 180º for 60 minutes.
9. After this time, and once you've checked with a skewer or a cake thermometer that it's fully cooked, remove the banana bread from the oven.
10. Once you can handle the pan without burning yourself, unmold and let the banana bread cool on a rack.

You'll see that after trying this banana bread you won't worry at all about bananas going bad in the fruit bowl… in fact, I'm sure you'll start hiding them so you can make this delight.