Banana, Walnut & Date Bread Recipe

 

This Banana Bread Recipe I am sharing today is incredibly moist and delicious!  Can you ever have too many banana bread recipes?  I think not!   I am always open to trying a new one!

This recipe has been adapted for my own use from a recipe I found in Natasha's Kitchen.  Simple to make using simple every day ingredients.  It is loaded with banana flavor and a lovely crunch from toasted walnuts.  She used raisins in her original recipe, but I thought I could improve on that and used chopped dates in their place.

 

I love the sticky toffee sweetness of dates and I thought they would go well with the caramel-like sweetness of the bananas.  I was right. They went magnificently.

I thought about using pecan nuts instead of walnuts, but then I decided to stick with the walnuts.  Bananas and walnuts are perfect partners!

 

My bananas were very ripe.  I buy bananas and only ever very rarely will eat them in time. I always forget they are there and they end up over-ripe and fit for no purpose other than baking with.  I always think I am going to use them to make smoothies, or sliced on top of my cereal in the morning, but then I never do.

To be honest I am not overly fond of raw banana.  Its not one of my favorite fruits, unless it is in a smoothie or on top of my cereal!  (Especially rice krispies!)

When I was married I had a difficult time keeping bananas in the house for baking with. They would always get eaten up.  I used to have to hide some away if I wanted to bake something with them. 

That is no longer a problem!

In any case, this is a lovely banana bread. Nice and moist, richly studded with nuts and dates. Perfect to enjoy spread lavishly with butter along side of a hot drink!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BANANA, WALNUT & DATE BREAD

Simple every day baking ingredients. If you are like me, I am betting you have everything you need to make this tasty tea bread right now!  

• 3 extra ripe medium sized bananas
• 1/2 cup (115g) butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
• 2 large free range eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups (210g) plain all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla
• 1 cup (116g) chopped toasted walnuts
• 1/2 cup (75g) chopped dates

You will want your bananas to be really ripe to make this bread.  The riper the better. Using un-ripened bananas doesn't work very well at all. 

It is really easy to ripen bananas.  If you are needing them to ripen right away, simply place onto a baking sheet (in the skins) and bake in a low oven (250*F/121*C) and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how ripe or unripe your bananas are.

Alternately if you can wait a bit longer, pop them into a paper bag, along with an apple to speed up the process.  Close tightly and leave overnight at room temperature. 

 

I always use toasted nuts in baking. They taste so much nuttier!  Simply place onto a baking sheet and pop into the oven while you are preheating the oven. 8 to 10 minutes later they should be nicely toasted. Allow to cool before using them.

Pitted Dates chop very easily with a pair of kitchen scissors that you have sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Pop them into a bowl and just cut away. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

 

If you make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature before you begin, you can't go wrong!  I use salted butter, free range eggs, organic granulated sugar and pure vanilla extract.  That's just how I roll. 

You can use unsalted butter, regular eggs and sugar if you wish as well as artificial vanilla.   I like to use the purest, less refined and free range products that I can.  Its just a personal choice.  You need to pick your battles and those are some of mine!

 

HOW TO MAKE BANANA, WALNUT & DATE BREAD

Making any kind of quick bread is fairly easy. A simple matter of folding wet and dry ingredients together for the win!

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan and then line with baking parchment, leaving an overhang to ease with removal.

Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy using an electric mixer. Beat in the bananas. (Alternately you can mash with a fork and then stir them into the creamed mixture.) Beat in the eggs. Stir in the vanilla and salt.

 

Sift the flour and baking soda together. Stir this into the batter to combine. There should be no dry streaks. Fold in the nuts and dates.  Pour into the prepared baking tin, smoothing over the top.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until golden brown, risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then lift out onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Cut into slices to serve. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

This will keep for four to five days, tightly wrapped, at room temperature. It also freezes very well. I like to cut into slices and pack together with a slice of parchment or wax paper in between each slice. Pop into an airtight container and freeze, ready to take out a slice at a time, as and when!

 

This was a lovely, rich and moist banana bread. I loved the addition of the toasted walnuts which added interest and crunch.  You can do as the original and add raisins instead of date, but I highly recommend the dates which add a hint of sticky caramel sweetness.

Altogether I would give this tasty banana bread two thumbs up!  Ten out of Ten!  A bazillion percent English Kitchen approved!

I am no stranger to a quick bread/loaf. I really love them. Probably even more than cake!  Some other favorite loaves that I bake are:

CRANBERRY, NUT AND ORANGE BREAD - This delicious tea bread/loaf is one of the classics. The type of thing you always used to see served at Tea Parties, Bridal and Baby Showers. Before everyone got all fancy.  It is flavored with orange and generously studded with toasted nuts and fresh cranberries.  Fabulously tasty!

CHEESE & PEPPER BREAD - Not a sweet bread but a savory one.  Rich and peppery with a lovely lush cheese flavor which goes perfectly with soups and stews, or on its own, served warm and spread with lashings of cold butter to melt down into that cheesy crumb.  It also makes nice tea/finger sandwiches, sliced thinly and sandwiched together with cream or goats cheese.

Yield: One 9 by 5 inch loaf

Author: Marie Rayner

Banana Walnut & Date Bread Recipe

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 10 M

This really is a lovely and moist banana bread, deliciously studded with plenty of toasted walnuts and sticky dates.

Ingredients

• 3 extra ripe medium sized bananas
• 1/2 cup (115g) butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
• 2 large free range eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups (210g) plain all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla
• 1 cup (116g) chopped toasted walnuts
• 1/2 cup (75g) chopped dates

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan and then line with baking parchment, leaving an overhang to ease with removal.
2. Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy using an electric mixer. Beat in the bananas. (Alternately you can mash with a fork and then stir them into the creamed mixture.) Beat in the eggs. Stir in the vanilla and salt.
3. Sift the flour and baking soda together. Stir this into the batter to combine. There should be no dry streaks. Fold in the nuts and dates.
4. Pour into the prepared baking tin, smoothing over the top.
5. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until golden brown, risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then lift out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Cut into slices to serve. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

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