Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 175 °C (conventional) and grease a loaf tin.
- Mash three bananas with a fork. Cream the butter and sugar with a hand mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the bananas, milk and cinnamon.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt and stir into the wet mixture only until no more flour is visible; fold in the walnuts.
- Pour the batter into the tin. Halve the last banana lengthways, press it cut side up onto the batter and sprinkle with the brown sugar.
- Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until a wooden skewer comes out clean. If the top is browning too much, cover loosely with foil towards the end.
- Leave the loaf to rest in the tin for at least 15 minutes, then turn it out and cut into slices.
Drink with it
Aged rum · excellent match
Barrel-aged rum, neat or with an ice cube
Ripe banana, vanilla and brown sugar notes are found in barrel-aged rum just as in the loaf, so the flavours join up seamlessly.
Drinking rum neat: how to get to know a bottlingFortified wine · excellent match
Bual or Malmsey Madeira
Caramel, nuts and a fresh acidity mirror the walnut and brown sugar and keep the moist crumb feeling light.
Port wine: understanding Ruby, Tawny, and VintageMellow whisky · excellent match
Bourbon, neat or with an ice cube
Vanilla and caramel from fresh oak meet ripe banana, brown sugar and walnut; in the American South, bourbon and banana go hand in hand.
Whisky with food: cheese, chocolate, and savory dishesDark beer · good match
Dark bock or doppelbock
Caramel malt and fruity esters pick up the baked banana and the roasted notes of the crust.
Which beer goes with food? More than just pils with barbecueWheat beer · good match
Hefeweizen
The yeast brings banana and clove of its own, so loaf and beer reinforce each other.
Wheat Beer: Where Do Banana and Clove Come From?
Why it pairs well
People rarely drink rum or Madeira with cake, but banana and caramel flavours carry both better than coffee.