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+ servings
banana cake with slices cut

Pecan Banana Bread

Amanda
A moist pecan banana bread that is easy to make with the crunch of pecans and sweet cardamom
5 from 15 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine British
Servings 12
Calories 316 kcal

Equipment

  • loaf tin - approximately 11 cm x 24 cm / capacity 1.2 litres, (about 2 pints)
  • sieve
  • Mixing bowl
  • wooden spoon
  • sharp knife
  • chopping board
  • wooden spoon

Ingredients
 
 

  • 225 g flour self raising
  • 115 g butter
  • 1 teaspoon cardamom ground
  • 2 eggs large, beaten
  • 175 g brown sugar
  • 3 bananas mashed
  • 100 g pecans chopped
  • 10 pecan halves

For the icing

  • 50 g icing sugar
  • 1 tablespoon apricot jam sieved

Instructions
 

  • Cream together the butter and sugar until it's fluffy.
  • Beat in the eggs and bananas. Don't worry if it looks grainy at this stage.
  • Sift the flour with the ground cardamom and fold into the wet mixture with
    the chopped pecans. 
  • Line a loaf tin with baking parchment that is about 11cm by 24cm or holds
    1.2 litres and scrape the mixture into the tin. Decorate with whole pecans.
  • Bake at 180C/350F/160FAN/Gas4 for 50 minutes to an hour until a skewer comes out clean.
  • Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a rack to cool
    completely.
  • Melt a tablespoon of apricot jam with a tablespoon of water in a small pan. Brush the top of the cake with a pastry brush.
  • To make the icing sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add a
    few drops of water at a time until it is just pourable. Use a fork to drizzle the icing back and forth over the top of the cake.

Notes

💭 Top tips

  • If you can't get hold of ground cardamom then buy green cardamom pods. Remove the seeds from the pods and either grind them in a pestle and mortar or in a grinder. I find it's easier to keep a small electric coffee grinder just for spices, especially as ground cardamom can lose it's flavour quickly.
  • When you have ripe bananas, but aren't ready to make anything, simply freeze them by putting whole peeled bananas in a freezer bag and defrosting before use.

Nutrition

Calories: 316kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 4gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 84mgPotassium: 200mgFiber: 2gSugar: 23gVitamin A: 307IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 30mgIron: 1mg
Keyword banana, cake, cardamom, loaf, pecan
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