Have you ever wanted to make sweet and crumbly banana bread but didn’t have a cake tin to hand? Now, you can use a slow cooker instead.
Slow cookers are great for hands-free cooking and use just a fraction of the energy that traditional ovens or hobs use.
Food blogger Sarah Olsen explains that this handy appliance is perfect for making a banana cake using overripe fruit without being in the kitchen.
Sharing her clever recipe online, the founder of The Magical Slow Cooker blog said: “This simple banana bread recipe yields a perfectly cooked loaf without the need for loaf pans, additional prep, or the fear of burning anything.”
Her recipe promises “perfectly moist” results in two hours.
Method
Just like cake tins, it’s important to grease the slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray to ensure the mixture doesn’t stick.
Sarah suggests lining the bottom with parchment paper, too, for extra protection, though it’s not essential.
Now, for the mixture, take a medium-sized mixing bowl and whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, then set aside for later.
In a larger bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar using an electric handheld mixer. Put the bananas onto a dinner plate and mash with a fork or potato masher to form a paste.
Add the bananas to the batter and mix again until smooth before adding one egg. Stir in, then follow with the other egg and vanilla extract.
Mix the dry and wet ingredients and pour in the buttermilk; stir together using a wooden spoon or silicone spatula.
Pour the combined batter into the slow cooker and spread evenly to smooth out the top slightly.
Cook on high heat for two hours. Sarah said: “You may need to cook a little longer or less, depending on how hot your crockpot cooks.”
Allow the banana bread to cool completely before removing it from the slow cooker and slicing it into portions. Enjoy alone, with a slathering of butter, peanut butter, icing or cream cheese.
