Date and Banana Loaf

This is the cake that I will always remember as the cake I made when I visited my son and daughter-in-law to welcome home my new granddaughter Alia two months ago.

I wanted to celebrate the arrival of the new addition to my family by baking something sweet, tasty and deliciously satisfying, just like the new bundle of deliciousness we have been blessed with. This Date and Banana Loaf was perfect, perfect like my new granddaughter.

I remember the first time I saw her, I thought my heart was going to burst with happiness. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was. I have two beautiful grandsons that I adore and, now, I also have a sweet little granddaughter. My life is truly blessed and filled with joy!

I must confess this is not my recipe but, for the life of me, I can’t remember where I found it. If I do remember, I’ll be sure to update this post and add a link to the original recipe.

Although my version of this recipe is gluten-free, the original wasn’t. If you prefer, you can replace the gluten-free flour and baking powder with the same quantity of normal baking powder and plain flour. Either way, this is a super moist, light, and “just” sweet enough loaf, that’s delicious on its own or with a drizzle of honey. It’s particularly good for satisfying the mid-afternoon munchies with a café latte. And, of course, like most of the recipes I share, this Date and Banana Loaf is easy to bake and even easier to eat more of than you should.

What you need

Preheat oven to 180C

• 200g sour cream
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
• 100ml thickened cream
• 100g unsalted butter – melted and cooled
• 200g caster sugar
• 2 eggs – lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups gluten-free plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large over-ripe bananas (mashed)
• 6 soft dates – pitted and chopped
• ¹/₃ cup flaked almonds

What to do

Grease a loaf tin and line with baking paper

Place the sour cream and bicarbonate soda in a large bowl – whisk to combine and stand for 5 minutes

Add cream, sugar, eggs and cooled butter to the sour cream – stir to combine.

Add sifted flour, cinnamon and baking powder – stir to combine

Add the mashed bananas and chopped dates – mix well.

Pour mixture into the loaf tin. Sprinkle almonds over the top.

Bake for approx 55 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean – cover with baking paper if browning too quickly.

Cool in the tin for 15 min – then transfer to a wire rack.