Banana, Date and Walnut Spelt Loaf

Ingredients

53g Walnuts
88g dates
53g unsalted butter, cubed and cold

Wet mixture
113g ripe banana
50g buttermilk (OR 25g milk and 25g yoghurt)
37g molasses (OR black treacle)
1 large egg
½ tsp vanilla extract

Dry mixture
100g whole grain spelt flour
53g granulated sugar
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

To Finish

1/3 banana, sliced for topping

Demererra sugar for topping

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 175oC
2. Weigh walnuts and bake in the oven for 10-15mins on a small cake tray. When ready, remove and chop.
3. Meanwhile grease a loaf tin and line with a rectangle of baking parchment at the base.
4. De-pit and weigh the dates, chop and leave to one side.

Wet Mix
1. In a small mixing bowl, mash the banana with a fork.
2. Then add the buttermilk, molasses, large egg and vanilla extract. Mix.

Dry Mix
1. In a large stainless steel mixing bowl, sieve the flour and add the sugar, cinnamon and salt. Finally add the baking powder and bicarb. of sugar.
2. Rub the butter into the flour, until texture of breadcrumbs, then add the chopped dates and walnuts and shake to coat.

To Finish
1. Pour the dry mix into the wet mix and combine.
2. Then transfer the combined mix into the loaf tin.
3. Finely slice the 1/3 banana and carefully lay on top of the mixture in a central strip.
4. Scatter with demerara sugar and bake in the oven for 1h.
5. When ready, check fully cooked by testing that a skewer comes out clean.
6. Let the cake cool for 15mins then turn out onto a wire cooling rack.

Added by: James Brook-Fox