The Queen’s Favourite Banana Bread

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With the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee just around the corner, it seems the perfect time to post this recipe for the Queen’s Favourite Banana Bread. Known for being frugal, it is entirely in keeping that her favourite cake is one which is the perfect recipe to use up ‘past-their-best’ bananas.

Where did I find this recipe?

Every now and then recipes come out of the palace which become universally available, and this is one of them. I first came across it on Curo’r Corona’n Coginio – a Welsh facebook group set up during the Covid epidemic for members to share recipes. Helen Evans posted the recipe; I know that Helen is a fabulous baker and she would only post incredibly delicious and reliable recipes. I decided that if it is good enough for both Helen and the Queen, it is definitely good enough for Daffodil Kitchen!

And they are not wrong! This is a fabulously delicious, light and moist cake, bursting with the flavours of banana and vanilla and studded with sultanas, glacé cherries and walnuts. You are going to love it. Charlotte took this particular cake into the physiotherapy department at St George’s hospital, and I can confirm that it was given a universal and massive thumbs up!

If you have any ‘past-their-best’ bananas sitting around in your fruit bowl, I really urge you to try this recipe!

How to make the Queen’s Favourite Banana Bread

Collect all your ingredients together:

• walnuts, chopped
• plain/all-purpose flour
• baking powder
• fine salt
• unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
• caster sugar
• sultanas
• glacé cherries
• eggs
• browning bananas, peeled and mashed
• vanilla extract

How to make this incredibly delicious cake:

1. First, cook walnuts in a pre-heated oven for 6 minutes. Take out of the oven and roughly chop.
2. Weigh the flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl and stir to combine well.
3. Chop the cold butter into small cubes and add to the flour.
4. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour, until it resembles breadcrumbs.
5. Add the sugar, sultanas, cherries and walnuts to the flour and stir to mix.
6. Mash the bananas thoroughly with the eggs and vanilla extract.
7. Add the wet ingredients to the flour, fruit and nut mix. Stir to mix, but be careful not to over-mix.
8. Transfer into a lined 900g/2lb loaf tin and level the surface. Dot over some walnut halves.
9. Cook in the centre of a pre-heated oven for 1 hour and 10 mins.
10. Cool on a wire rack and serve sliced, spread with a little butter and a cup of tea!

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Brown Bananas

One of the key issues when baking banana muffins is using bananas at the correct stage of ‘over-ripe!’. They should be so over-ripe you probably wouldn’t eat them, the skins will be brown and the banana flesh very soft – they will however be very sweet, full of flavour and perfect for baking. Timing is therefore key!

You can freeze bananas and then cook with them

The good thing is that you can freeze over-ripe bananas if you do not want to use them immediately. Simply remove the skin, chop into 2 cm pieces, pop into a bag and freeze. Defrost before using in baking. 

The brown banana below is perfect for cooking although it doesn’t need to be quite this brown! The yellow one underneath is very nearly ready to use in cooking.

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What is the best way to store Banana Bread?

Like most Banana Bread, this recipe is best eaten the day it is made. It does however, store very well and will keep up to 3 days covered at room temperature or up to 5 days in the fridge. (Remember to take out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature before eating.)

If the Banana Bread seems a little stale, try quickly warming individual slices in the microwave. Alternatively, toast them and eat hot with salted butter. Soooo good.

Can you freeze Banana Bread?

Yes you can! It freezes well for up to 3 months. Cover and put in the freezer as soon as possible, but make sure it has completely cooled before bagging. Defrost in the fridge overnight.

Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.