Banana loaf with Madagascan vanilla icing...

I was excited to have the opportunity to collaborate with Ape Snacks recently, who sent me a box of their healthy coconut snacks which come in several tasty sweet and savoury varieties and they are full of fibre and gluten free too. I have always loved baking banana bread and my family always enjoy it when I bake a loaf of it, which usually means that it does not last for very long! This weekend I thought it would be fun to bake a banana loaf topped with some of the snacks which Ape Snacks sent to me. I used my favourite banana bread recipe, which I always go back to again and again; it makes a very moist loaf which is just irresistible and I find it is great for breakfast or served as a dessert.

This time I wanted to make it more as a cake which we could all enjoy with some afternoon tea, so I decided to bake banana bread with Madagascan vanilla buttercream icing, topped with walnuts and Ape Snacks crispy coconut curls with salted chocolate. This recipe is so simple, and it turns out well every time I bake it.

Ingredients 

2 free range eggs, beaten  

140g self-raising flour

140g sugar (I use ordinary granulated sugar, caster sugar is not necessary) 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

2 ripe bananas, mashed 

140g butter or margarine

Icing and Topping

140g butter, softened

280g icing sugar

1-2 tbsp milk

Ape Snacks crispy coconut curls with salted chocolate

Walnuts 

1 teaspoon Madagascan vanilla extract 

Method

In a mixing bowl, cream the softened butter or margarine and sugar together with a fork until fluffy, beat in the eggs and then add the mashed bananas. Add the flour and baking powder to the bowl and mix everything well until it forms a smooth mixture which drops from the end of a wooden spoon. Meanwhile heat the oven to 180°c (gas 4) lightly grease your loaf tin and line it with baking parchment.

Pour the banana bread mixture in to the loaf tin and bake on the top shelf of the pre-heated oven for about 30 minutes, until the loaf looks golden and springs back when you press it gently and a knife or skewer comes out of the loaf clean.

Make a batch of Madagascan vanilla buttercream icing, by creaming together the icing sugar, butter and milk in a bowl along with a teaspoon of good quality Madagascan vanilla extract. Add a little more milk to make a more fluid icing (which I wanted for this loaf cake).
When the loaf has cooled, turn it on to a plate and layer the icing over it, smoothing out with a palette knife. Decorate with walnuts and a sprinkling of the Ape Snacks crispy coconut curls with salted chocolate, and there you have it, the perfect cake to accompany your afternoon tea.

http://www.apesnacks.com/

What do you all think, have you baked a banana loaf recently and would you like to try Ape Snacks?As always, I cannot wait to hear your thoughts and thank you so much for reading this post.

Until next time,

Camille

xo