Angela Hartnett's Banana Bread

Makes one loaf (12 slices).

Ingredients

  • 100g sultanas
  • 75ml rum
  • 4 small, ripe bananas
  • 225g plain flour
  • 2tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 25g butter, plus extra for greasing the tin
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 60g walnuts, roughly chopped

Instructions

Put the sultanas in a bowl with the rum and leave to soak.

Grease a 900g loaf tin with butter and line it with greaseproof paper. Preheat the oven to 170°C/ Gas Mark 3½.

Peel and mash the bananas – you need about 300g in all.

Sift the flour with the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.

Melt the butter, then mix it with the sugar in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, then add the flour mixture and stir well.

Add the mashed bananas, walnuts, sultanas and rum. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 45-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin, before turning out.

Store in an airtight cake tin.