Pear and banana bread

This banana bread recipe is a brilliant way to use up browning bananas. The addition of pears and maple syrup makes it all the more sticky and decadent.

Pear and banana bread

Or, for a classic recipe, try our simple banana bread recipe.

  • Serves icon Serves 8
  • Time icon Hands-on time 25 min, oven time 45-60min

This banana bread recipe is a brilliant way to use up browning bananas. The addition of pears and maple syrup makes it all the more sticky and decadent.

Or, for a classic recipe, try our simple banana bread recipe.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories
312kcals
Fat
16.1g (7.4g saturated)
Protein
4g
Carbohydrates
38.4g (23.9g sugars)
Fibre
2.7g
Salt
0.2g

Ingredients

  • 100g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
  • 3 (about 250g) really ripe and speckly bananas (see tip)
  • 100g golden caster sugar
  • 2 ripe but still firm comice pears, cored and chopped, dusted in a little flour
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup, plus extra to serve
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 large free-range egg
  • 150g plain flour
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 50g pecans, roughly chopped
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Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Grease and line a 1 litre loaf tin (approx 21.5cm x 11 x 7cm) with baking paper so it overhangs the short edges of the tin (see tip).
  2. Mash the bananas in a mixing bowl, then stir in the melted butter and caster sugar with a wooden spoon until well combined. Stir through the pears, the maple syrup and vanilla extract, then beat in the egg. Sift in the flour and bicarbonate of soda, then gently fold in, along with the pecans, using a metal spoon.
  3. Pour the mix into the loaf tin, then bake for 45 minutes to one hour. The cake should be dark on top with a soft, moist sponge. Check it’s done by poking a skewer into the centre – if it comes out clean it’s ready. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then lift out onto a wire rack to cool. Drizzle with extra maple syrup to serve.

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving
Calories
312kcals
Fat
16.1g (7.4g saturated)
Protein
4g
Carbohydrates
38.4g (23.9g sugars)
Fibre
2.7g
Salt
0.2g

delicious. tips

  1. When you line a loaf tin with baking paper, leave some hanging over the short edges of the tin. The excess paper will help you lift out the baked cake. We’d recommend that you use a baking tin which is 21.5cm x 11 x 7cm for the best results.

  2. This cake freezes well for up to 3 months. Once cool, freeze all or part of the cake, tightly wrapped in baking paper and sealed in a freezer bag. Defrost, then drizzle with golden syrup to serve.

  3. If you have browning bananas in your fruit bowl, don’t let them go to waste (they have so much flavour) – freeze them in their skins. Defrost before using to make the cake.

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Read what others say...

  1. […] Once you’ve made your banana bread batter decadent, the next step is to make it interesting. My strategy is to Google “banana bread” + whatever other ingredients I happen to have around. At this particular juncture, I had ripe pears (see above) and pistachios (my favorite nut of the moment). And so I came upon this random recipe from Delicious Magazine UK. […]

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