Gluten and Dairy Free banana bread

Gluten and Dairy Free banana bread ( cake)

To make 1 2lb loaf:

150g sultanas or about 100g dark chocolate chips/dairy free chocolate chips

I lemon

100g Pure dairy free sunflower spread

125g caster sugar

2 large eggs

3 large, very ripe bananas mashed with a fork

1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

200g Doves Farm gluten free self raising flour

Preheat oven to 160c or gas mark 3.

Line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment or use a liner as I did, Morrisons sell them now, I am not sure about other supermarkets. Lakeland do them also and it saves a lot of time and sore fingers and wrists. ( also blue air when your hands just really will not co-operate!)

Grate the zest of a lemon being careful not to get the white pith as this is bitter, you can use orange zest if that is what you have available.

Cream the spread’ and sugar in a mixing bowl with an electric beater and  then add in the eggs on at a time beating into the mixture well at each addition.

Next add the dried fruit and zest.

Add the mashed banana to the bowl and about a teaspoon of good quality vanilla essence

.

Beat in the flour with your electric mixer and ensure it is thoroughly combined, leaving no lumps of flour that are not beaten in.

Scrape the mixture into the loaf tin then gently smooth off the top for aesthetic purposes and cook for about 50 mins to an hour. to check if the cake is done insert a metal skewer or wooden tooth pick into the thickest part of the cake, it needs to come out without being coated in the cake batter, if it comes out clean, you are done, if not bung it back in for about 7 minutes and check again, repeat until cooked, remember if using a fan assisted oven to allow for the temperature difference and keep an eye on it.

Leave the cake to cool, in the loaf tin for around 10-15 minutes. basically leave it long enough that you dont burn yourself when you eat it, it is at its best when still warm, it slightly gooey and the flavour is amazing. It keeps well wrapped or in an air tight container for 2-3 days but I doubt it will last that long.