Banana loaf is delicious on its own, and even better with lemon highlights.
Ripe yellow bananas, frekled and fragrant, make all the difference in these loaves. Plan ahead to let bananas ripen for a few days at room temperature. For fast ripening, place bananas in a bag.
Ingredients :
· 3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
· 2 tsp. baking soda
· 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
· 1-1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg
· 3/4 tsp. salt
· 3 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 6)
· 2 tbsp. grated lemon rind
· 1/2 cup lemon juice
· 1/3 cup butter, softened
· 1/3 cup shortening
· 1 cup granulated sugar
· 4 eggs
· 2 tsp. vanilla
Cooking Procedures :
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Prepare and grease 5 pcs. of 5-3/4 x 3-1/4 inch foil pans.
2. In a bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Stir to combine and set aside.
3. In a small bowl, combine bananas with lemon rind and juice. Set aside.
4. In another large bowl, beat together butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, and stir in banana mixture and vanilla. Add into batter the dry ingredients one-third at a time.
5. Spoon batter into prepared, greased foil pans and place in the center of the oven. Bake for about 40 minutes or until golden and cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Remove from the oven and let it cool in pans on racks for 15 minutes. And then remove banana loaf from pans and let cool completely on racks. Makes 5 small loaves, 3 slices each.
(Loaves can wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in airtight container for up to 3 days or frozen in rigid airtight container.)
TIP – If you have a kitchen scale, you can divide the batter evenly in pans by weight—each filled pan should weigh about 11-1/2 oz (330g).