Mary Berry Recipe Banana Bread Food

BRILLIANT BANANA LOAF

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• Butter a 2lb loaf tin and line the base and sides with baking parchment.
• Cream 140g softened butter and 140g caster sugar until light and fluffy, then slowly add 2 beaten large eggs with a little of the 140g flour.
• Fold in the remaining flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 2 mashed bananas.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about 50 mins, or until cooked through. Check the loaf at 5-min intervals by testing it with a skewer (it should be able to be inserted and removed cleanly), as the time may vary depending on the shape of your loaf tin.
• Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then remove to a wire rack.
• Mix 50g icing sugar with 2-3 tsp water to make a runny icing.
• Drizzle the icing across the top of the cake and decorate with a handful of banana chips.

BANANA WALNUT BREAD

Steps:

• Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl, set aside. Whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a liquid measuring cup with a spout, set aside. Lightly brush a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan with butter. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with an electric hand-held mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually pour the egg mixture into the butter while mixing until incorporated. Add the bananas (the mixture will appear to be curdled, so don't worry), and remove the bowl from the mixer.
• With a rubber spatula, mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the nuts and transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Turn the bread out of the pan and let cool completely on the rack. Wrap in plastic wrap. The banana bread is best if served the next day.

BANANA LOAF

Steps:

• You will need a 900g (2lb) loaf tin, 17 x 9 x 9cm (6½ x 3½ x 3½in) base measurement. Lightly grease the loaf tin and line it with non-stick baking parchment. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Measure all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and beat for about two minutes, until well blended; an electric mixer is best for this but of course you can also beat by hand with a wooden spoon. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface. Bake for about one hour, until well risen and golden brown. A fine skewer inserted in the centre of the cake should come out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then loosen with a small palette knife and turn the cake out. Remove the lining paper and leave on a wire rack to cool completely. Slice thickly to serve. Get your copy of Simple Comforts, Mary Berry's essential new guide to comfort cooking. Featuring over 120 delicious, foolproof recipes, including a whole chapter of Mary's favourite new bakes and puds:

ORANGE CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 160°C (without fan) and line the 2 LB (900g) loaf tin with baking paper.
• Finely chop the chocolate bar into uneven small chocolate chunks, slightly smaller than the size of a pea.
• Mash the banana, zest and juice. Don't mash it too much, it will get too runny.
• Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate soda into a mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
• Add the remaining ingredients (except for the chopped chocolate) into the mixing bowl. Beat until thoroughly mixed. It takes less than 1 minute. For me, it's 40 to 45 seconds.
• Gently stir in the chocolate chips coated in flour.
• Quickly transfer the batter to the prepared loaf tin. Level the top.
• Bake at 160°C for 60 minutes.
• To test if the cake is done, insert a skewer into the cake. The skewer should come out clean, and the cake slightly shrinks away from the tin.
• Optional: Once you remove the cake from the oven, sprinkle some chocolate over the top of the hot cake. I like to use chocolate chips as they don't lose their shape even when melted.
• Let the loaf cool down for 10 minutes in the tin, then remove from the tin and continue cooling down on the wire rack.

BANANA & WALNUT LOAF

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease a 2lb loaf tin with some butter and line the base with baking parchment, then grease this as well.
• In a large bowl, mix together the butter, sugar and egg, then slowly mix in flour and baking powder. Peel, then mash the bananas. Now mix everything together, including the nuts.
• Pour your mixture into the tin and bake for 1 hr, or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack before removing from the loaf tin. The loaf can now be wrapped tightly in cling film and kept for up to 2 days, or frozen for up to 1 month. Defrost and warm through before serving. Serve in thick slices topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with a little Easy chocolate sauce (see recipe, below).