It took a trip to New York to experience the most irresistible slice of freshly baked banana bread I’ve ever tasted. But this wasn’t just any banana bread: it was warm, fresh from the oven and served with a silky, smooth mango buttercream, which turned a simple breakfast into a luscious treat.
Recreating a New York indulgence at home
On coming back home, I was determined to replicate this in my own kitchen, so I turned to a tried and tested family recipe from my Aunty Nellie – Grandma Abson’s daughter-in-law – who shared many recipes with Grandma in the 1950s. Once bananas reappeared after WW2 rationing finally ended in 1954, this recipe became a household favourite. It’s easy, dependable and perfect for using up those overripe bananas which may be hanging around in the fruit bowl.
The trick with the bananas is not to mash them up too much, so you can achieve a light, moist but rich texture. You can use less sugar (e.g. half the amount) if you prefer not too sweet a mixture. This banana bread can also be made with gluten-free flour, if you add a splash of liquid (approx. 2-3 tablespoons of water or milk) to the final mixture. The walnuts are optional if you like a crunchy texture, but not if you’ll be sharing your bake with anyone with a nut allergy.
Banana Bread
What you need:
225g self-raising flour
or 225g plain flour and 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt
110g butter (finely cubed)
110g golden caster sugar
50g chopped walnuts (optional)
2 eggs (beaten)
60ml milk
50g golden syrup (warmed)
3 bananas (mashed)
1 tbsp demerara sugar (for topping – optional)
How to bake
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan.
- Line a 1kg/2lb loaf tin. Use a cake liner if possible.
- Sift the flour (with bicarbonate of soda, if using) and salt in a bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the sugar (and walnuts if using).
- In a separate bowl, blend the eggs with the milk. Add the golden syrup and stir in the mashed bananas.
- Add the wet to the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Turn into the loaf tin and sprinkle with demerara sugar, if desired.
- Bake for 1 hour (but check after 45 minutes) – a cake skewer should come out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Mango buttercream
This mango buttercream works beautifully with banana bread. I made mango purée with 100g of chopped mangoes – it works well with frozen mango pieces too – by pulsing the pieces in a food mixer until smooth. Then I added the purée to Grandma’s buttercream recipe.
What you need:
50g butter
110g icing sugar
Few drops vanilla essence
1-2 tbsp water
50g mango purée
Cream the butter and icing sugar. Add the vanilla essence and water. Then add the mango purée and blend until the buttercream is smooth and well blended.
We all probably had our fill of banana bread during lockdown, but I’m sure that spreading it with this tropical mango buttercream, will make you fall in love with it all over again. Believe me, you won’t be able to resist when it’s warm, fresh and straight out of the oven, alongside this tangy, perfect companion.
You can read more about Grandma Abson’s life, her passion for baking and recipes, or head over to @grandmaabson on Instagram, to see Meryl baking with her grandchildren.
