As I mentioned in a previous blog post, we are big on baking in our household, particularly Adam and Freddie, who are starting to give Paul Hollywood a run for his money (without the perma-tan and ridiculously young girlfriend, arf arf). At the weekend they got their bake-on again, and I returned home from taking Sasha to a party to discover they’d made these AMAZING banana loaf bites with banana icing- so tasty! I also like the fact that they’re in bitesize pieces for the children rather than a big slab of cake, perfect for a tea time treat or when friends are over.

I can vouch that they taste seriously nice with a good old cup of tea too.

Here is how you make them…

You will need

• 256g Plain Flour
• 2 tsps Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsps bicarbonate of soda
• 1 1/2 tsps of cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 Large Bananas
• 1 Large egg
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla essence

For the icing…

• 60g butter, softened
• 125g mashed bananas
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 400 to 500g icing sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C
2. Lightly grease an 8 inch square baking dish
3. Put the flour, baking powder, Bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a mixing bowl, sifting the ingredients together
4. In another bowl, mash the bananas well with a fork or masher. Add the egg, vegetable oil and vanilla and stir until well mixed together
5. Add the flour mixture, and then mix the wet and dry ingredients together until well combined
6. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth the top of the batter with a spatula
7. Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, checking nearer the time until a skewer comes out clean
8. Transfer to cooling rack and cut into squares
9. Whilst cooling, prepare the banana icing
10. Cream together butter, banana, lemon juice and vanilla. Slowly beat in icing sugar, adding more if needed to make a nice fluffy, spreadable icing.
11. Once the bites are cooled, add icing to each one by spreading thinly (or thickly!)

Enjoy!

For more of my baking recipes have a look here