Banana Bread

Cookin time: 40 minutes, Prep time: 10 minutes

I have always loved making banana breads but the 2020 lockdowns saw me making them more and more often. Earlier, I would make banana breads to use up the leftover bananas but now, I would buy a bunch and happily see them get ready to be baked! I also made numerous banana pancakes, 2020 could easily be the year of bananas (or going bananas).

The good that came from all this baking was that I got to experiment with my recipes - a trait that i get from my father, and it has been an exciting journey. One thing that remained constant was my desire to use minimal sugar, I am not a big fan. I tried substitutes such as honey, maple syrup, raisins, palm sugar etc. but the thing that worked the best for me were dates. They gave a beautiful flavour and also have health benefits. In this banana bread I did use a bit of sugar though as I found that it gives a beautiful caramalization. You can skip it if you want to be absolutely true to the no sugar rule.

It is a super easy recipe and the most difficult part is to mash the bananas. I did not add any nuts to the bread, but you can add as per your liking. Let me know what works for you!

For this recipe you will need:

For the bread:

Ripe bananas 2 mashed

Dates 7 chopped

Eggs 2

Mascarpone 1 tbsp

Self raising flour 140gm

Butter melted 140 gm

Sugar 20 gm

For the topping:

Mascarpone 3 tbsp

Mix all the ingredients for the bread and pour in a lined cake/bread tin. Preheat oven to 180 degrees (160 for fan oven) and bake the bread for 40 minutes. Once baked, spread the mascarpone on top and let it cool down before eating.

Enjoy!