… I am absolutely crazy for the glorious honey I picked up at The Skibrooke Cyder Company… I simply can’t get enough of its wonderful depth of flavour… they say you can taste the flora that the honey bee draws its nectar from and in this case it is so absolutely true… when eaten raw the honey has hints of apple blossom and rapeseed but once baked it comes alive a kaleidoscope of ginger, golden syrup and undertones of caramelised pineapple, which is why it works so well baked here in this simple banana loaf, and why I am entering it into this months tea-time treats, the theme of which is Floral Flavour and Flowers… hosted with such elegance each alternate month by Kate from What Kate Baked and Karen from Lavender and Lovage…
… we’re having a rare day of sunshine and warmth here at Belleau Cottage and the poor bees really do need it as Guy Williams from Skidbrooke Cyder tells me they’ve been having real problems getting out to feed recently with all this wet weather, so much so that he’s worried they’ll starve and has been having to feed them a sugar solution… and with the fields of rapeseed so tantalisingly close it must be dreadful for those hungry little workers and isn’t good for us either for without the bees working their magic on our plants and trees we’ll all suffer… let’s hope there’s some more sunshine soon before its too late!
apple blossom honey, walnut and banana loaf
as you know this is my ‘go-to’ banana loaf recipe, developed by my mum and if you haven’t tried it yet then its a must… if you want the basic banana-only recipe, eliminate the honey and add a second mashed banana… it is so easy to do and just so damned fine you’ll wonder why you never made it before!
8oz self-raising flour
4oz butter or margarine
4oz sugar
1 very ripe banana – mashed
2 eggs – beaten
2oz chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon natural honey
– pre heat the oven to 170C
– in a large bowl use your hands to mix the flour, butter and sugar into breadcrumbs, then add the mashed banana, eggs, honey and walnuts
– mix with a wooden spoon until it is a smooth, thick batter
– pour into a loaf tin and bake for 40 minutes or until golden and risen
… I have a few more dishes up my sleeves to use this honey, some sweet and some savoury, so do come back and check out the others later in the month…
until then, eat and of course, enjoy!
I love honey so looking forward to some more treat from you. They will have to be good though to top this Honey Banana and walnut loaf.
What an absolutely FABULOUS Tea Time Treats entry Dom…..I ADORE honey, but especially blossom honey and this tea loaf is STELLAR! I am feeling very down about this bloody weather……it's bad, talk about the merry month of May, it's a wash out so far….still, a slice of that loaf would cheer me up! Merci darlink!
This honey does sound really good and I love a few nuts in my banana loaf too!! x
A good floral honey is a wonderful thing to bake with. A nice addition to a very fine cake.
Mmm! Looks lovely! I agree also … a floral honey is just such a nice flavour addition. Here in New England, we find blueberry honey and when I used to travel to Florida to see my grandparents, we would always stop and get fresh orange blossom honey … true nectar of the Gods!
I LOVE banana breads and this looks amazing. Love the addition of honey which works really well in a banana loaf. I really must try this recipe one day – thanks for sharing!
Great loaf of banana bread. I love having a true tried and tested recipe in my recipe binder. Isn't local honey the best? I love the depth of flavor also. My honey is produced by the bees living by our local cranberry bog. It has a deep cranberry color.
I love banana loaf and the honey sounds like the perfect ingredient.
I love honey too but want it to be the raw honey and it is $7-8 a pint here so I get it when I can but have to do without a lot of times.
If only I could reach into my computer and grab a piece of that bread!! YUM!!
Apple blossom honey just sounds so delicious. Those poor bees – when are they going to get a break?
That's it. You're new career as a honey connoisseur – who needs wine or chocolate? Love honey, love bees and my heart goes out to them during this dreadful spring they've been having. Delicious sounding cake and even more delicious sounding honey.
yummmmm……warm with butter….drool…