Banana bread has a lovely moist cake-like texture, and is a delicious way to use up ripe bananas. It is not as sweet as some other cakes, and it can be served hot with cream and slices of fresh banana, or at room temperature with a drizzle of icing for afternoon tea. A good banana bread recipe should be easy to follow, and the bread should stay fresh and moist for at least 4 days.
Banana bread recipes were first officially recorded in a set of recipes by the Pillsbury Company in 1933, but it wasn’t until the 1960s, after a revival in simple home baking, that banana bread become so popular in the western culture.
Here is an easy banana bread recipe that you can try at home:
You will need:
125g butter
175g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
280g plain flour
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt
125ml milk
3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1tsp vanilla extract
Small handful of chopped walnuts
Method:
· Heat the oven to 180C/Gas mark 4 and lightly grease a 25cm x 11cm (10in x 4½in) loaf tin.
· In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar until it is smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat in well. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt together, and slowly add half of this to the mixture and beat well. Now add the milk and remaining flour and mix until smooth.
· In a separate bowl mash the ripe bananas with a fork and then gently fold them into the mixture along with the vanilla extract. Tip the mixture into the greased loaf tin, and top with the chopped walnuts.
· Cover the top with foil and bake in the oven for an hour, or until the loaf is cooked through and browned on top. Cool in the tin a little before turning out.
· Serve immediately in thick slices, with a drizzle of cream and some slices of fresh banana. 
