Just when I thought my banana bread recipe collection was complete, rhubarb season rolled around and proved me wrong.
We’re lucky that our house backs on to some allotments and one of them belongs to our friend Nick who grows the most incredible rhubarb (he swears it’s because it’s right next to the compost.) He very kindly lets me help myself, so Teddy and I often wander over – he has a good sniff while I pick a few stalks.
Of course, it’s only fair to return the favour so I turned Nick’s rhubarb into this loaf and dropped it round to him. A fair trade, I think. He sized it up, mentally divided it into four and was very happy with his quarter-a-day plan.
Joking aside, this loaf is such an easy and delicious bake and one I’ve come back to so often recently because it’s perfect for using up those odds and ends – one egg, two small bananas and just a handful of rhubarb. This recipe is proof you don’t need much to make something worth sharing.
Please don’t skip the step of ‘flouring’ the rhubarb unless you want it all to sink to the bottom of your loaf. A quick toss in the flour helps keeps the pieces nicely distributed throughout.
Also all good things come to those who wait and that’s especially true with banana bread. As tempting as it is to cut into it straight from the oven, it’s worth letting it cool completely so it can firm up properly (and slice nicely too.)
This really is the perfect recipe to have in your repertoire when rhubarb season rolls around. And if you happen to have a generous rhubarb supplier nearby, even better!
Have you ever paired rhubarb with banana before? And are you a “save a slice for later” person, or more of a “cut it into quarters and tuck straight in” like Nick?
Ingredients
110g rhubarb, chopped into 1-2cm chunks
220g plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 heaped teaspoon cinnamon
75g butter, melted
150g caster sugar
1 egg
2 small, ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon demerara sugar, for sprinkling
How to – Traditional
- Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a small loaf (23 x 13cm) tin with baking paper.
- Take 1 tablespoon of the flour and put into a small bowl with the chopped rhubarb. Toss to coat and set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, mix the rest of the flour, bicarb, salt and cinnamon until combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl mash the bananas until mostly smooth. Then add the melted butter, sugar, egg and vanilla and mix together.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix gently until just combined.
- Fold in the floured rhubarb.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf tin. Sprinkle with demerara sugar and bake for 65-70 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean. If the loaf is browning to quickly, loosely cover it with foil.
- Allow to cool in the tin for about 15 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.
How to – Thermomix
- Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a small loaf tin (23 x 13cm) with baking paper.
- Weigh the flour into the TM bowl. Take 1 tablespoon of the flour and put into a medium sized bowl with the chopped rhubarb. Toss to coat and set aside.
- Add the bicarb, salt and cinnamon and mix for 5 seconds on speed 5. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Don’t worry about washing the TM bowl.
- Add the butter to the TM bowl and melt for 3 minutes at 60C on speed 2. Check that all the butter has melted.
- Add the sugar, egg, banana and vanilla and mix for 10 seconds on speed 4.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix for 8 seconds on speed 4.
- Fold through the floured rhubarb with the spatula.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf tin. Sprinkle with demerara sugar and bake for 65 -70 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean. If the loaf is browning to quickly, loosely cover it with foil.
- Allow to cool in the tin for about 15 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely – this helps firm up the loaf.
