Sticky Toffee Banana Loaf
Sticky Toffee Banana Bread
Makes 1 x 2lb loaf
Ingredients
Banana Bread
140g butter, softened
140g caster sugar
2 large eggs
140g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 very ripe bananas
100g dates, finely chopped
50–60g light muscovado sugar
1 tsp dark treacle
Hot tea, enough to cover the dates
Sticky Toffee Sauce
200g dark muscovado sugar
100g butter
300ml double cream
2 tbsp dark treacle
¼ tsp sea salt
Tip: If your bananas are ripe but not properly soft and overripe yet, bake them in their skins at 150°C fan for around 15 minutes. Let them cool enough to handle, then peel and mash as normal. They’ll soften and become sweeter, which works much better for banana bread.
Method
1. Get the dates soaking
Heat the oven to 160°C fan and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper.
Finely chop the dates, put them into a bowl and pour over just enough hot tea to cover them.
Leave them to soak for 10–15 minutes, then drain off any excess tea.
2. Make the banana bread
Beat the softened butter and caster sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs straight into the butter and sugar mixture, one at a time, beating well after each one. Add a little of the flour if the mixture starts to split.
Fold in the remaining flour and 2 tsp baking powder.
Mash the bananas, then fold these through the mixture along with the soaked dates, light muscovado sugar and dark treacle.
Don’t overmix it, just get everything evenly combined.
3. Bake
Spoon the mixture into the lined loaf tin and level out the top.
Bake at 160°C fan for around 50–60 minutes.
Start checking it from around 40–45 minutes. If the top is getting too dark but the middle still needs longer, loosely cover it with foil and carry on baking.
It’s done when a skewer through the middle comes out without any wet batter on it.
4. Make the sticky toffee sauce
While the banana bread is finishing in the oven, add the dark muscovado sugar, butter, double cream and treacle to a saucepan.
Put it over a low heat and stir until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
Bring it up to a gentle simmer and cook for 3–5 minutes, stirring every so often, until it’s smooth, glossy and has started to thicken.
Add the sea salt, give it a final stir and take it off the heat.
It will thicken a little more as it cools.
5. Poke and soak
Once the banana bread is out of the oven, leave it in the tin for 10 minutes.
While it’s still warm, use a skewer to poke plenty of holes all over the top, going most of the way down into the loaf.
Slowly pour around a third of the warm sticky toffee sauce over the top. Don’t pour it all on at once — give it a chance to soak down through the holes and into the bread.
Leave it in the tin for another 10–15 minutes to soak everything up, then carefully lift it out.
Keep the remaining sauce for serving.
To Serve
Cut the banana bread into thick slices and warm them slightly before serving.
Warm the remaining sticky toffee sauce and pour plenty over each slice.
It’s good on its own, but even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a little cold double cream.