Banana & Raisin Bread

A bit of baking on the menu today to ease you into the new week! This banana and raisin bread is light and moist and delicious with a cuppa. Great served on it's own, even better with a little low fat butter on top. The loaf will keep perfectly for a couple of days if stored in an airtight container or biscuit tin. 

The recipe will make a small loaf.

Ingredients

• 75g raisins

• 15ml unsweetened orange juice

• 50ml low fat milk

• 2 medium bananas. Peeled and mashed

• 1 egg. Lightly beaten

• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence 

• 4 sweeteners. Crushed with a spoon

• 2 teaspoons of honey

• a couple of sprays of Fry Light One Cal spray oil

• 225g self-raising flour

• ½ level teaspoon of salt. (Low sodium salt would be best)

• 50g low fat butter. Chilled. (You can pop it into the freezer for a few minutes before using)

Method

1. Add the raisins to the orange juice and allow to soak for 10 minutes, then drain.
2. Meanwhile, in a separate small bowl or jug, mash the bananas and milk until it forms a chunky paste. It's fine to leave some larger lumps. 
3. Next add the lightly beaten egg, vanilla essence, sweeteners and honey and stir to combine.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°C and spray the loaf tin with the spray oil. 
5. Add the drained raisins to the banana mixture and stir to combine. 
6. Next sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the butter and rub it in until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
7. Next, add about half the banana mixture to the flour and stir to combine with a wooden spoon or spatula.
8. Add the remaining banana mixture and stir again until all the flour has fully mixed in.
9. Transfer to the prepared loaf tin and shake gently to make sure it spreads evenly, filling the tin. Bake in the centre of the oven for 1 hour, 15 minutes until golden brown. If the top is browning too much, you can cover the loaf with tin foil as it bakes.
10. Carefully remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. To double check if the loaf is fully cooked, you can pierce it with a skewer or cocktail stick. The bread is ready if the skewer emerges clean and contains no residue. Store in an airtight container or biscuit tin.