I know I’ve told you before, but I shall not tire of reminding you that hubby and I lived on a sailboat for a couple of years and happily sailed from Africa into the Mediterranean. On route, we stopped off at the Cape Verde Islands in the north Atlantic where I went to the market to buy fresh fruit and veg. I asked for bananas (or shall I say, I gesticulated for bananas) and successfully managed to buy some. A whole stalk to be exact. That makes a mere 52kg…

I was able to share them with another boat, but it still meant 26kg of bananas needed to be eaten. And no, they do not last forever. So I do have quite a large selection of banana recipes including amongst others, tempura bananas, curried bananas and of course the old standby, banana bread.

Now I’m pretty sure you all have recipes for banana bread. I have several and they are all good, with some gooder than others. The one I used regularly on the boat contained no eggs and was still a pleasure to eat. But after a couple of years break (what can I say, 26kg is a lot of bananas…) I decided I needed a slice of warm banana bread with butter. This is how we ate it in the Bland household of my youth. So after several recipes and a little bend here and a little tweak there, I have come up with (for us) the Perfect Banana Bread.

I have gone for a moist banana bread that is delicious without the at first unheard of lack of butter. It keeps very well and is soft, moist and slightly classier than my first attempts. I made it in the usual loaf pan, but will probably make it in a cake tin next time and cut slices then top them with caramel and sliced fresh bananas…excuse me while I dash to the kitchen for another slice!

BANANA NUT BREAD
(Makes 2 loaves)
4 cups / 550g flour
2 tbsp. / 30g / 2 pkts baking powder
2 cups / 400g sugar
½ tsp. salt
1 cup / 120g nuts (I used almonds and pecans)
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 cup / 250ml vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 can (8oz / 220g) pineapple with its juice
1 tsp. vanilla (1 pkt vanilla sugar)
4-6 bananas (2 cups mashed)

1. Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F.
2. Mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, nuts and spices.
3. Puree the pineapple with its juice and add to the oil, eggs and vanilla and mix well.
4. Stir in the mashed bananas and then add the dry ingredients and mix to combine.
5. Pour into 2 greased and floured bread tins, to about ¾ full and bake for 1 hour.
Enjoy!!