Liss's Banana Bread with blueberry and coconut

This banana bread travelled with me freshly baked to almost every Thursday morning mothers' bible study group at St Bede's Drummoyne. I now reflect on getting out of the house by 9am every morning with a newborn and freshly baked banana bread in hand as a damn good effort. What I like was that it was never done out of a sense of obligation. I think it's interesting to see where we naturally invest our efforts as they reveal what brings us life and joy. Those Thursday morning bible studies were the highlight of my week and I think bringing this banana bread which was excitingly devoured every time, made me feel I could give something back to these treasured, tired friends. 

My sister actually inspired me with this one - she is by far the most social person I know and when I was visiting her in Armidale, she would whip this up before she visited this friend or that friend while juggling a newborn herself and I think in the space of a week, we had made it three times and it was delicious. I ended up taking a leaf out of her book (heck, I take a leaf out of her book on many occasions) and I was making it once or twice a week from that point on. It is adapted from a thermomix recipe, not to say it can't be easily made with the humble hand beater but this makes it very easy and doesn't compromise the end result at all.

Ingredients:

130g unsalted butter, softened

350g ripe bananas (approx 4 bananas)

150g honey

2 eggs

220g wholemeal plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 pinch salt

1 tsp bicarbonate soda

100g buttermilk

2 tsp vanilla bean powder

handful of shredded/desiccated coconut

handful of fresh blueberries

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a deep-sided loaf tin and set aside.

2. Place ripe bananas into mixing bowl and mash 5 sec/speed 6.

3. Add unsalted butter and honey and mix 20 sec/speed 4. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula.

4. Add eggs and mix 10 sec/speed 4.

5. Add plain flour, baking powder, salt, bicarbonate soda, buttermilk, vanilla bean powder and coconut and combine 20 sec/speed 4.

6. Pour half of the mixture into prepared loaf tin and sprinkle with fresh blueberries. Pour the rest of the mixture into the tin and top with a row of thinly sliced banana pieces down the centre. Bake for 60-90minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into centre comes out clean.

7. Allow to cool in tin for 30 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool. Allow to cool completely then transfer into an airtight container until ready to use or serve warm.

***Adapted from Thermomix: The Basic Cookbook Banana Bread pg 326***