Banana bread is one of the most simple home bakes, great for using old bananas and turning them into something truly delicious.
That said, the basic recipe can get tiresome, which is why I decided to find a way to make it even tastier – with the addition of rum.
Trying out a recipe by BBC Good Food, I removed some of the added extras (mixed peel and chopped nuts) and made a banana-flavoured rum the star of the show.
A few glugs of the Discarded Banana Peel Rum is all you need to add to turn boring banana bread into an impressive home-bake, and it’s nice to drink on its own too. It’s a unique “zero-waste” product that’s easy to get hold of at Waitrose for £26, on Amazon for £23.99, or direct from Discarded Spirits.
I even added it to a delicious glaze-style icing for subtle banana and rum flavour – and it’s safe to say I was impressed. Not only did the cake have a moist texture like no other, but also had a boozy edge to cut through the sweetness of the bananas.
Method
Many rum cakes come in the form of festive, fruity bakes or Bundt cakes, which require a lot of effort to master the texture and shape. But this easy banana loaf is fuss-free thanks to the one-bowl approach.
First, measure out the butter and caster sugar and cream them together in a large mixing bowl. It’s best to ensure all ingredients are at room temperature before being baked for the best results, as I have learned from speaking to several TV chefs including Juliet Sear and Marcus Warein.
Next, cream them together until light and fluffy. This is easily done by hand using a wooden spoon – there’s no need for an expensive mixer or whisk.
Measure out the bananas and mash them up directly into the bowl (or in a separate one first), then stir to combine. Measure out a generous handful of sultanas and sprinkle them in.
Crack in the two eggs and mix everything. At this point, the mixture will look loose and quite unpleasant, but stick with it as the flour will fix this. Pour out the rum into the bowl and stir it through.
Measure the flour and sieve it into the bowl then gently fold it into the mixture. It’s important not to overmix the ingredients, so keep an eye on your technique as you slowly fold the flour through until it’s invisible.
Now add in the bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon, if using, and stir once more. Grease a standard-sized loaf tin with butter to ensure easy lifting when the loaf is baked. Pour the cake batter into the loaf tin and cook on the lowest shelf of a preheated oven at 180C (160C fan). Set a timer for 45 minutes, checking the cake at the 25-minute mark.
Alternatively, fill 14 muffin cases with a dessert spoon-worth of mixture (they rise a lot) and bake for 20 minutes in the oven.
If the loaf looks a little brown on top at the 25 minute-mark, cover it with tinfoil and return to the oven to continue cooking for another 20 minutes. Serve warm on its own, or whip up a rum glaze by combining a few tablespoons of icing sugar with a drop of water and whisk until thick.
Add a dash of rum to loosen it into a pourable consistency. Poke some holes in the cake with a skewer while still warm and drizzle the glaze over the top to seep into the tin.
Allow the cake to cool before attempting to remove it from the tin. I find the best trick is to tap the base of the tin on a hard surface a few times then turn it on its side on a large plate before quickly flipping it out.
