The One That Nearly Didn't Make It

Banana bread #5 is one of those recipes that I instinctively shy away from. Anything that calls for egg whites and oil scream of healthy, low fat and generally dry and cardboardy. This recipe is from BBC Australian Good Taste magazine and is from the kids cooking section.

The Photos

Fresh out of the oven

Can you see the lumps of flour?

The Recipe

2 egg whites, lightly beaten
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
¾ C brown sugar
¼ C rice bran oil
1 ½ C plain flour
1 ¼ t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
½ t bicarb soda

Preheat oven to 180C and line a loaf tin.
Combine egg whites, banana, sugar and oil in a large bowl.
Sift dry ingredients.
Fold together until just combined and spoon into prepared pan.
Bake 1 ¼ hours until a skewer comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve warm, cold or lightly toasted with butter or cream cheese spread.

The Results

Believe it or not, this banana loaf is the best so far. I was so surprised. It makes a small loaf and I used a smaller tin than the others so it filled the tin nicely. It cooked in 55 minutes, rather than the 75 minutes suggested by the recipe. It was crunchy on the outside, sweet and bananary on the inside. It was nice with butter or eaten plain. It toasted well, but was as nice to eat fresh.

The Score

9/10. The best by far.