oaty banana bread – Stuck in the kitchen

This is a recipe that I originally posted eons ago and thought it was time for an up-date. Banana bread has got to be one of the most comforting things to eat, and this one has the added bonus of a good helping of oaty fibre, and a liberal sprinkling of cinnamon sugar on top. I used to make it when Rich was just a little boy, as a way of getting any kind of fruit into him. Now that he is Mr big smelly 17-year-old complete with man feet and hairy chest, he still likes nothing more than a slice or three of banana bread toasted under the grill, with a tall glass of milk. Sometimes I would love to close my eyes, go back in time and spend an hour with the boys when they were little, for big snuggly hugs and to inhale the delicious smell of them. Clearly that isn’t going to happen, but somehow I can go back in time a little bit (in my mad head) with recipes like this 🙂

4 medium ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup flavourless oil suitable for baking, eg Rice-bran
1/4 natural yoghurt
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp self-raising flour
3/4 cup porridge oats (or whole grain oats, whizzed in a food processor)
1 tsp each cinnamon and sugar mixed together

Prepare yourself – this will take all of 5 minutes! Preheat oven to 170˚C (340˚F) and grease and line a loaf tin.Whisk bananas, oil, yoghurt, sugar, egg and vanilla together in a bowl. Sift in flour and add oats and stir to combine. Spoon into loaf tin, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and cook 45-50 mins until lightly golden and cooked through. Let it cool in the tin for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack – great sliced straight away with a cup of tea, or grilled and dotted in butter for several days afterwards. Little PS here – I just made this for the millionth time and instead of porridge oats I substituted 3/4 wholegrain oats (3/4 cup after whizzing) which I blended until moderately fine in the food processor – excellent result with a lovely nubbly texture and earthy flavour!

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