One of my favourite desserts as a child was banoffee pie. There is just something special about the dollops of cream, the buttery biscuit base; and oodles of toffee mixed with fruity banana.
I realised the other day that it had been absolutely ages since I’d eaten a slice of banoffee pie. It seems to have fallen out of fashion of late, and I cannot remember the last time I saw it on a restaurant menu. So, when I was recently asked to bake a banana loaf, I just had to incorporate that banoffee memory.
My banoffee bread gets its flavour the use of light brown sugar in the cake, as well as a butterscotch sauce on top. If you prefer a classic banana bread, simply omit the butterscotch topping. The loaf itself is more than capable of holding its own as a banana bread without the sauce.
In terms of ripeness, I like to wait until the bananas are more brown than yellow. For me, this is the perfect time to use bananas in cakes as the flavour carries really well. It also helps that I like to eat my bananas really ripe in any event so any less ripe than this and they’re still good for eating!
I have had a few requests for this recipe, and I hope you like it. If there is anything else you’d like to see me tackle, leave a comment at the end of this post!
Banoffee Bread
Ingredients
For the loaf cake
- 150 g butter softened
- 150 g light brown sugar
- 1 egg large
- 3 ripe bananas mashed
- 200 g flour all purpose
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
For the butterscotch topping
- 300 ml double cream
- 80 g butter softened
- 100 g light brown sugar
- 1 tsp sea salt (optional)
Method
For the loaf cake
- Pre-heat the oven to 160°C and line a 2 lb loaf tin with baking parchment.
- In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Next, incorporate the egg and mashed banana.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake on the middle shelf for around 40 minutes (or until a skewer placed into the centre of the cake comes out clean).
- Leave the loaf cake to fully cool on a wire rack.
For the butterscotch topping
- In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the cream, butter and sugar.
- Bring to a boil and whisk until the sauce turns a nice toffee colour and has thickened to ribbon stage. To test for ribbon stage, take a spoonful of sauce and pour in back into the pan in a figure of eight motion. If the sauce holds its shape long enough so that you can draw a figure of eight that does not immediately disappear, the sauce is ready.
- Leave the sauce to cool to room temperature. Do not be tempted to place it in the fridge, as it will set solid if you do. (Should the sauce set too hard, you can bring it back by heating it in a bowl over a pan of water, being careful not to let water get into the sauce.)
Ready, set… Drizzle!
- Once both cake and sauce are cooled, pour the sauce over the loaf cake and decorate however you like. I like to use pieces of salted caramel fudge however dried banana pieces work well too!
Notes
- If you prefer not to top this banoffee bread with butterscotch, simply leave it out. The loaf cake with work just fine as a classic banana bread without it.
- If you can stand to wait long enough, this loaf cake cuts much better on day two. Make it a day ahead and make the butterscotch sauce on the day you want to serve it.
Oh wow this looks delicious! I’m book marking this for my ‘to bake’ list.
I’m not a baker, but I’m definitely going to attempt your recipe – I am drooling at my desk!