Crunchy-Top Banana Bread

Hello! Well it's holiday time again - a would-be perfect opportunity for lots and lots of baking - however, as I'm jetsetting all over the place, I have next to no time for foing anything at all! Pfft. Oh well. I shouldn't be complaining, should I?

And isn't spring just lovely? I was so over winter. So dreary and cold. My favourite thing about spring is probably all the flowers  - their colours and smells. When taking some photos of the banana bread(my family's absolute staple),  I used a couple of poppies my pappy picked in the petal-garden protected by a picket fence. Nice alliteration, eh?

But seriously, I adore flowers, especially poppies!

Speaking of words beginning with 'p', did you like the plates I posted earlier? Just another project that I've decided to dabble in. Maybe I'm doing too much, but I like it that way. It's better than being bored! Some could say I'm "spreading myself too thinly". Ha! A baking pun! Ha!

All this good weather must be affecting my brain. Let's get on to the recipe. What I love about this banana "bread" (but let's face it, it's a cake people) is it's texture - texture texture texture! The cake itself is similar to shoving a tasty pillow into your mouth, while the almondy top adds the nicest of crunches! A perfect treat, whatever the weather!

 (P.S you can freeze slices of this cake for up to 3 weeks. Just defrost it and it will be restored to just about the same level of deliciousness you had before.)

Crunchy-Top Banana Bread

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:

45g brown sugar

30g dry-roasted almonds, roughly chopped

20g shredded or dessicated* coconut

255ml sour cream

1 tsp bicarb soda

100 unsalted butter, melted

230 caster sugar

2 medium eggs, lightly beaten

250g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2-3 medium, overripe mashed bananas

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line 2 loaf tins (10x18cm) with baking paper.

In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, chopped almonds and coconut. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the sour cream and bicarb soda with a metal spoon and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the melted butter, caster sugar and eggs.

Sift flour, baking powder and cinnamon together into the bowl.  Add mashed bananas. Lightly fold the dry and the wet ingredients together (again using a metal spoon) until just combined. This 'light touch' will make you banana bread delightfully fluffy!

Pour mixture evenly into two loaf tins, and sprinkle equally with the brown sugar/almond/coconut mixture. Bake for 1 hour, or until golden brown, and a skewer inserted into the bread comes out squeaky clean!

 

Let cool in the tins for 20 min, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool completely.

{Recipe adapted from Bill Granger}