Everyone will go nuts and/or bananas for these delicious peanut butter and banana mini loaves.
Lately we’ve been very big on bananas. Ever since the start of the year – we’ve been having a banana a day. You see, David had a mystery tummy bug over Christmas which really knocked his stomach for six and I read somewhere that bananas are good for gut health.
The thing is, David doesn’t really like bananas or banana flavoured/tasting anything so I was thinking of ways to make his daily ‘nana more appealing. I instantly thought of my dear friend Jane who used to sit next to me at work. She used to bring a packed lunch full of healthy lunch choices and I like to think over the years she influenced my eating habits somewhat… Apart from the tempeh. I was never going to touch, let alone eat that! (Sorry, tempeh lovers!)
It was Jane who told me the best way to eat bananas and that is, sliced down the middle, with a slathering of peanut butter in between the two ‘slices’ kind of like a peanut butter banana sandwich if you will. You can either eat the sandwich ‘open’ with the two slices separate or you can sandwich them together, let me tell you friends, either way is absolutely delicious!
I know this to be so because I introduced the peanut butter and banana combo to David, my resident banana nay-sayer and he bloody loved it! We invested in a really good quality peanut butter (all natural and no nasties) and I suggest you do the same because a good quality peanut butter really elevates this healthy treat into the super tasty leagues!
I remember once in Australia when bananas cost almost $15 a kilo and fortunately we don’t pay anything like that here in the motherland but I do struggle buying bananas. Buy them too soon and they’re inedibly green and if you don’t eat them quickly enough they go to brown town and one thing David and I agree on is that we will not eat brown bananas.
That brings me to this recipe… so many banana bread recipes call for 3 or 4 bananas but what if, like me, you only have 1 or 2 – well, then this recipe is for you! Of course, if you have more, go bananas, make a full batch of 8 and knock yourself out!
The other thing I love about this recipe is not only does it not need many bananas but mini loaves take way less time to cook than a standard loaf which is great when you just want to whip something up for afternoon tea. Ideally, you need a mini loaf tin for these but if you don’t have one a muffin tin will suffice, just adjust the timings accordingly.
Do you like bananas? Have you been influenced by your friends?
Makes 4 mini loaves (easily doubled)
Ingredients
2 ripe bananas
65g plain flour
50g crunchy peanut butter
50g brown sugar
35g wholemeal plain flour
25g butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
How to – Traditional
- Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line 4 holes of an 8 hole mini loaf tin. Fill the remaining 4 holes halfway with water – this will allow for even cooking. If you’re doubling the recipe to make 8 loaves, you’ll need to grease and line all 8 holes.
- Mash the bananas in a large bowl.
- Add the remaining ingredients and beat using an electric mixer until just combined.
- Divide the mixture equally between the 4 holes.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the loaves comes out clean. If the loaves are browning too quickly, simply cover the tray loosely with foil.
- Cool the loaves for 10 minutes in the tin, then lift out and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
How to – Thermomix
- Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line 4 holes of an 8 hole mini loaf tin. Fill the remaining holes halfway with water – this will allow for even cooking. If you’re doubling the recipe to make 8 loaves, you’ll need to grease and line all 8 holes.
- Place the banana in the TM bowl and mash for 2 seconds on speed 4.
- Add the remaining ingredients and mix for 5 seconds on speed 4 until just combined. If necessary, mix for another 1-3 seconds on speed 4.
- Divide the mixture equally between the 4 holes.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the loaves comes out clean. If the loaves are browning too quickly, simply cover the tray loosely with foil.
- Cool the loaves for 10 minutes in the tin, then lift out and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
