Banana Bread with Pecans

And the baking continues. In Velt's magazine Seizoenen (3/2009) Emilie Heller really gave away some kept secrets from the Joy Luck Baking Club she had as a child with some friends. A Californian recipe from a distant aunt of the author's. Zillions of banana bread recipes flock pages like these, but I had 4 overripe bananas and I was charmed by the possibility of little sugar. And rightly so.

Banana Bread with Pecans (by Emilie Heller)

Serves 10-12 (in a regular rectangular cake tin)

3-4 ripe bananas (I used 4)
50 g butter
80 g brown sugar (I used 2 teaspoons of honey)
225 g whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
100 g chopped pecan nuts
1 egg
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
optional: some finely chopped dates

Preheat the oven at 190 °C.

Mash the bananas with a fork.

Stir together butter and sugar. Add the egg.

Add dry ingredients. Combine everything.

Add the pecans at the end and the optional dates.

Oil a cake tin, dust it with flour.

Bake for about 1 hour in a moderately hot oven (I set it at 180 °C.)

Note: I used two teaspoons of honey. You read that right. Out came a highly edible baked item perfect for after-dinner nibbles.