Quick And Easy Banana Bread

This quick and easy banana bread recipe is one you’ll come back to again and again. Light, moist and tasty with the crunch of walnuts it is the perfect tea-time treat.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• This is such an easy throw-it-together banana bread recipe
• It’s a great way to use up those old brown spotty bananas
• Banana bread is perfect for picnics, bake sales and coffee mornings, easy to slice and share.

Banana and walnut bread is a fast cake to throw together and a real crowd-pleaser in this house. Also a great way to use up those spotty bendy bananas that are lurking in the fruit bowl and about to start attracting fruit flies and putting off the humans.

Ingredients for this banana bread

Bananas – the star of the show in this easy banana cake recipe. You want somewhat aged spotty bananas as they contain more natural sugar and sweetness for your banana bread.

Flour – I’m using self-raising flour for my banana bread, that’s cake flour in USA

Sweet stuff – Caster sugar. While I have used plain white caster sugar you can use golden caster sugar instead if you have it. Vanilla extract not only adds a richness and depth of flavour but it’s own form of sweetness too.

Moisture – one free-range egg and a little milk are all you need for this easy banana cake recipe.

Fat – unsalted butter.

Texture – walnuts. These are optional but I always think walnuts add that extra dimension to banana bread offering a little bit of crunch in that fluffy cake.

Notes on nuts; I’ve made this a banana and walnut loaf but if you don’t like walnuts you could use pecans instead or even crushed hazelnuts.

This banana bread is a great one to make for kids. I made this for Idgy’s sleepover the other night, but alas felt a huge compulsion to scoff rather a lot of it myself. Note to self; do more exercise!

How to make quick banana bread

First things first, mash up your banana in a bowl. Use a fork and work out any lumps. Get it as smooth as possible as this will give you the best texture for your banana bread.

Simply melt the butter, sugar and vanilla over a low heat. Then when it has all melted together remove from the heat and pour into the bowl with those mashed bananas.

Crack the egg into a cup and beat before adding to the banana mixture. I like to add a little beaten egg, then some of the flour, then some milk, then egg again etc, until I have used all the ingredients up.

Toss in the walnuts and stir into the banana bread batter.

Spoon the batter into a lined loaf tin. Don’t worry about the top being uneven. It will level off as the banana bread bakes in the oven.

Bake your banana loaf for 35-40 minutes or until well risen and golden. The banana cake should have come away from the sides of the baking tin just a little.

Use a fine skewer or cocktail stick (toothpick) to test if it is done. The stick should come out clean after being inserted into the middle of your banana loaf.

How to serve quick banana bread

You can top this simple banana and walnut bread with frosting for a fancier bake.

I just like to serve my banana loaf sliced either on its own or with some butter.

Or serve your banana cake as a dessert lightly warmed and with a dollop of good quality vanilla ice-cream.

How long will this banana bread keep?

Wrap in foil and your banana bread will keep for up to 4 days. You can freeze banana bread for up to 3 months.

Looking for more super easy bakes to make? Then check out these recipes before you go;

Easy lemon and ginger drizzle cake

Super easy mochaccino brownies

Summer berry sponge cake

Banana bread traybake with banoffee topping

Super easy banana brownies

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.