Banana loaf with cream cheese icing
- Prepare
- 30 mins to 1 hour
- Cook
- 30 mins to 1 hour
- Serve
- Serves 12
- Dietary
- Vegetarian
Dense and moist, this banana loaf is even more irresistible with a cupcake-style cream cheese icing.
You’ll need a cook’s blowtorch for the decoration.
By Ed Balls
Ingredients
- 180ml/6fl oz vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing
- 250g/9oz dark brown sugar
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- 3 free-range eggs
- 425g/15oz very ripe bananas, peeled (about 3 large or 4 small bananas)
- 120ml/4fl oz natural yoghurt
- 1¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1¼ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1½ tsp salt
- 280g/10oz white spelt flour
- 60g/2¼oz raisins
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
For the cream cheese icing
- 200g/7oz full-fat cream cheese
- 100g/3½oz icing sugar, sifted
- 1 tsp cornflour
- 75ml/2½fl oz (5 tbsp) double cream
To decorate (optional)
- 1 banana, sliced in half
- 2 tbsp light brown sugar
- dark chocolate, for grating
Method
Preheat the oven to 170C/150C Fan/Gas 3. Grease a 900g/2lb loaf tin and line with baking paper.
Whisk together the oil, brown sugar, vanilla extract and eggs in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until smooth, then stir in the yoghurt. Sift in the bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and stir to mix.
Add the egg mixture to the banana and stir together, then fold in the flour and raisins until well combined. Pour into the prepared tin and sprinkle with the caster sugar.
Bake for 1 hour, until well risen and golden brown. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10–15 minutes, then remove from the tin and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
To make the icing, whisk all the ingredients together in a large bowl, until creamy and smooth and soft peaks form when the whisk is lifted.
Put the banana bread on a serving plate. Spread the cream cheese icing over the top in billowing waves.
If you would like to decorate further, put the banana halves on a heatproof plate and sprinkle with the light brown sugar. Using a blowtorch, hold the flame just above the banana until all the sugar has caramelised. Arrange the caramelised banana halves on top of the banana bread and grate over the chocolate.
