Banana bread with malt butter

Toasted banana bread with malt butter

I made this banana bread for my Pop. He loves a piece of toasted banana bread for breakfast. When we came by some cheap, over-ripe bananas, he made it clear he wanted some banana bread. I made some banana cupcakes to satisfy Nan’s banana cake request and everyone was happy. I think the malt butter is a great breakfast accompaniment to a slice of this banana bread. It’s very simple to make, high in vitamin B, easy to spread and easy to store. It also has a great flavour, that’s not too sweet for breakfast. Although I made this for Pop, I have to say, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, and may in fact have had more slices than he has!

Banana bread

50	grams	butter
¾	cup	raw or light brown sugar
1		egg
½	cup	mashed banana
1/4	cup	milk
1 ½	cups	flour
½	teaspoon	bi-carb soda
1	cup	walnuts, roughly broken

Malt butter

1/4	cup	malt extract*
1/4	cup	butter

*You’ll find tins of malt extract in the honey aisle of the supermarket.

To make the banana bread: Grease a loaf tine and preheat the oven to 180^oC. Cream the butter and sugar. Mix in the egg. Add the mashed banana and milk. Sift over the flour and bi-carb soda. Mix to combine and fold through the walnuts. Tip the batter into the greased loaf tin and spread the batter evenly. You can make it higher on the edges than in the middle. Bake in a preheated oven for an hour or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Store in an airtight container.

To make the malt butter: beat together the butter and malt until well combined; spoon into a small ramekin for serving; cover and store at room temperature until desired. The malt butter will keep at room temperature for a week, or longer in the fridge.

Serve slices of banana bread fresh or toasted, spread with malt butter.