Making banana bread is a great way to use up ripe bananas. This recipe from Dawn Quest is a healthy, tasty twist on an old favorite.

One of the best things you can do with a bunch of overripe bananas is make good old-fashioned banana bread. In fact, the riper and blacker the banana the better.

We've taken out the processed white sugar and added in maple syrup instead for a slower release of energy rather than a sugar high/sugar crash. The result is a beautifully moist, not-too-sweet bready-cake that works well with crème fraîche or yoghurt or on its own.

Ingredients

•         285g plain flour

•         1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

•         ½ tsp salt

•         110g melted butter, cooled, plus a little extra for greasing the tin

•         170ml maple syrup

•         2 eggs, lightly beaten

•         4 very ripe bananas

•         85ml buttermilk (or use normal milk with 1½ tsp lemon juice)

•         1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4
• Sift the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda together in a large bowl
• Add the melted butter and maple syrup together in a separate bowl
• Mash the bananas to a relatively smooth pulp 
• Add the eggs, banana, buttermilk and vanilla essence to the butter and syrup (make sure the butter is cool to avoid cooking the eggs). 
• Fold the flour mixture into the banana mix until well-combined
• Grease a 2lb loaf tin (approx 21cm x 12cm)
• Pour the batter into the tin, place in the oven and bake for approximately 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.