How to make Banana and Date Loaf

This Banana and date loaf recipe is delicious and very easy to make. Moist bananas teamed with the soft caramel flavours of brown sugar and dates. Add a little spice and some walnuts for a little crunch and you’ve a delicious sweet treat that will go wonderfully with your favourite cup of tea or coffee. Why not try it for yourself?

This is our favourite banana loaf cake and we eat it a lot at home. The recipe has been refined and changed a little over the years, adding more dates… adding more walnuts. It’s one of those reliable recipes that you can trust. It has more of a cake texture and the heavier more dense texture of banana bread but when you want cake this will be perfect.

Do you ever have bananas that have passed their best? If you do then this is the perfect solution. It’s pretty much the perfect way to make use of the fruit. Plus, it makes a delicious sweet mid-morning or mid-afternoon treat, especially with a great cup of coffee.

Features of this recipe

• it is soft and moist from the fruit.
• carmelly flavours that come from using muscovado sugar and also from the dates.
• makes good use of fruit that might otherwise go to waste.
• lightly spiced from the ground cinnamon.
• easy to change a few things to suit what you have in the house, for example, add a few walnuts or a handful of raisins. Don’t have either just now? Then either leave them out of substitute with other dried fruits or nuts to the same amount.

Ingredients

The ingredients for this Banana Loaf cake are all listed below but here’s a little more information.

• bananas – the riper the better. Bananas with some brown/black spots on the skin will be perfect. You want ripe fruit because these will give you the best flavours. Too ripe, however, where the banana inside is discolouring and it smells almost gassy, that won’t help you make the best banana loaf cake.
• fats – you can use butter, dairy or non-dairy margarine in this recipe and it will work perfectly every time.
• flour, baking powder – these are the structure of the cake. I often use self-raising flour but I know that this isn’t available everywhere in the world, so you can substitute all-purpose or plain flour and add in an extra teaspoon of baking powder for a little bit of lift. I use white flour in this but occasionally I use half white flour and half wholemeal. The wholemeal flour adds more depth to the flavour, so if that appeals to you, try it. It’s lovely.
• eggs – this cake uses 3 medium-sized eggs and they help hold everything together and give the loaf cake it’s lightness.
• sweeteners – muscovado sugar and the dates both add sweetness to the cake. You can use any sugar if that’s what you have to hand but muscovado or light brown sugar will give you the best flavour.
• cinnamon – this warming spice is a favourite flavour addition of mine. If you don’t like it, then leave it out but think about a 1 tsp of vanilla extract instead.

Making Banana and Date Loaf

The first step, as always, is to gather your ingredients together. Preheat the oven to 320F/160C/140C fan/gas 3 and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin.

Mix the sugar and the butter together until light and fluffy. I use a small hand mixer for this as it makes the whole process easier but by hand works just as well.

It really helps to mash up the bananas a little before adding to the mix. You don’t have to be really fussy about this part but it does make mixing a little easier. Then add the rest of the ingredients; flour, eggs, milk, baking powder and cinnamon. Mix this until everything is incorporated and fairly smooth. Use a spatula to scrape everything into the tin.

Pop it into the oven and set the timer for 45 minutes. It generally takes between 45 minutes and an hour to cook so I always start checking after the 45 minute mark.

Tips for Success

• Measure all the ingredients accurately.
• It is best if eggs are at room temperature – cold eggs can make a cake sink.
• Mash the bananas with a fork before adding to the mixture. this will help the fruit ‘disappear’ into the cake and avoids lumpy fruit bits when you cut into it.
• Set your oven temperature accurately.
• Test carefully to ensure that the cake is thoroughly cooked by inserting a skewer into the middle, remove it and if it doesn’t come out clean then the cake could probably do with another 3 -5 minutes in the oven. Keep checking at these intervals until the skewer comes out clean.
• Allow the cake to cool completely before icing. If it it still warm it may cause the buttercream to begin to melt, spoiling any artistic swirling or piping you may have done.

Variations

There a few modifications that you make to this recipe.

• substitute other dried fruits for the dates; raisins for dates for example.
• omit the walnuts or replace them with pecans or flaked almonds.
• change the flour for a plain or all-purpose flour but you will need to add another teaspoon of baking pwder (2 teaspoons altogether). Something else which I occasionally do is to use half white and half wholemeal flours, this is a really nice variation to make.
• omit the cinnamon and add in a teaspoon of vanilla… again this just subtly changes the flavour of the loaf.

Making buttercream icing for the Banana and Date loaf

In the meantime, you can make the buttercream icing. You don’t have to decorate it with buttercream, the loaf is just as lovely without, but if you’re fancying a little cake then don’t be shy with the icing. Really, enjoy yourself.

This is quite simple to make. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl to remove any tiny lumps that’ll make it difficult to make smooth buttercream. Then add the butter along with the vanilla extract and mix it together until you have a nice consistency.

Allow it to rest in the fridge for about 1/2 hour. This will let the buttercream icing stiffen a little which will help keep any patterning or swirling you choose to do with it.

What to do if the buttercream seems too firm?

Add a 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of water and mix again. If it still seems too firm to spread on the loaf cake then add a little more water but be cautious as it’s easy to add too much.

What to do if the buttercream seems too runny?

If the buttercream seems too runny then add more icing sugar until it becomes a consistency you like and that will spread beautifully across the loaf.

Decorate with Optional buttercream icing

Once the loaf comes out of the oven and you’ve tested it using a skewer to ensure that it’s cooked all the way through, allow it to cool completely.

Decorate with the buttercream, spreading it gently across the top. For a completely artistic flourish – because that’s important sometimes, you could take the time and use a piping bag. I generally spread the icing across the top with a palette knife, make a few swirly patterns with a fork and sprinkle with chopped up walnuts. What will you do?

Most important of all, however, your wonderful Banana and Date Loaf is now ready to slice, share and enjoy.

Storing the Loaf Cake

This fruit loaf should last happily for up to a week if stored in a suitable airtight container.

It will also freeze successfully for up to 2 months. Freeze it without the buttercream icing.

Defrost overnight and thaw thoroughly, then if you wish, you may add the buttercream icing and perhaps sprinkle a few pieces of walnut over the top.

Enjoy! As always please share any comments or photos as I love to keep up with what you’re all cooking.

If you like this… you make like…

• Blueberry Muffins
• Lemon and Poppy seed Muffins
• Classic Rock cakes
• Castella Cake

Why not follow our Facebook page – The Simpler Kitchen – or out Twitter page and keep up with what’s going on ?

Why not Pin the Banana and Date Loaf cake for later…