It’s time for the Noble House take on the new big baking trend: Banana Bread.
According to Google Trends, searches for banana bread in March went up 84% in the UK, and 54% worldwide, so we know you’re keen!
But the question has always been: is it bread, or is it cake? Well for today, the answer is definitely cake, with this deliciously sweet take on the recipe by our head chef, Owen Sullivan.
So dust off your baking trays and start up your ovens, it’s time to create a beautiful dessert and treat yourself!
Banana Bread with Salted Caramel Toffee Sauce
Serves 6-8 people
INGREDIENTS
For the cake:
· 300g self-raising flour
· 5g salt
· 120g butter
· 220g dark muscovado sugar
· 2 eggs
· 5 bananas
· 85g buttermilk (or replace with natural yoghurt, or sour cream)
· 25g maple syrup
For the salted caramel:
· 200g caster sugar
· 50ml of water
· 50g butter
· 100ml double cream
· Good pinch of sea salt
METHOD
1. Begin by making the salted caramel - heat a heavy based pot and add the water and sugar.
2. As the water evaporates the sugar will start to caramelize. When this sugar goes dark brown (if you have a sugar thermometer this will be between about 110oC-114oC), carefully add the butter and the cream; this will boil and bubble, so stir with caution.
3. Once incorporated together, add the salt and allow to cool.
4. Pass through a sieve if you have any lumps (add a splash more cream if needed to make it a bit more liquid), and set to one side to glaze the bread after baking.
5. Start by baking the bananas in their skins at 180°C until blackened (this should take about 5-6 mins depending on the ripeness).
6. Ideally in a food mixer, whisk the butter and sugar until light and airy; the colour will also change and become lighter as you incorporate more air into the mix.
7. Add the eggs and whisk in; then add the syrup, bananas and buttermilk, and mix together to create a lumpy batter-like mixture.
8. Separately, mix the cinnamon, salt and flour together and sieve into the wet mix, gently folding this together, keeping the air in the mix to keep it light and fluffy.
9. Pour mixture into a parchment lined baking tray or tin so the mixture is about 5cm deep and bake at 180°C (fan oven) for 5mins.
10. Turn the oven down to 160°C and continue to bake for 15-20mins (or a bit less if the mix is shallow).
11. Test with a cake tester or small knife; the centre should be firm, but still moist, leaving a little bit of mix on the tester as you check it.
12. After allowing 5 mins to cool down, cut off the uneven top of the bread to level.
13. Place back into the tin or tray that it was baked in so that the bottom is now facing upwards.
14. Heat up the salted caramel sauce and pour about half of the sauce over the warm cake, so that it is absorbed (a little bit like you would with a sticky toffee pudding).
15. Now you can store the cake and the rest of the sauce in the fridge for later (it will keep for up to 3 days), or enjoy it straight away. If you are saving it for later, you can reheat in the oven or microwave.
16. To serve, cut the cake into portions, plate up and drizzle over the rest of the sauce, or serve on the side.
17. Serving Suggestion: This is delicious with a small slice of fresh banana and dollop of semi-whipped cream or marscapone, or will also be fantastic with the rest of the buttermilk, yoghurt or sour cream that you used in the recipe! If you want to add some crunch, sprinkle with some breakfast cereal!
Enjoy!
You can find more gorgeous recipes from our Noble House At Home series here and if you’d like to discuss designing some beautiful menus for your workplace or next event, please email us at sales@thenoblehousegroup.com.