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Use soft, ripe bananas with black speckles for this recipe. They'll be sweeter and more flavorful. Image Credit: AP

Serves 10 | Preparation and cooking time: 1h20m | Difficulty: medium

Ingredients

1 stick butter, unsalted

1 cup jaggery, grated (or substitute Muscovedo sugar)

2 cups white flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cardamom

2 tablespoons milk

2 large eggs

1 cup mashed ripe bananas, plus 1 banana for decoration

Method

1. Butter a loaf tin (approximately 9 x 5 inches). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Put the butter and grated jiggery into a pan and melt over a very low heat. Stir until well mixed with the consistency of melted chocolate, then remove from the heat and leave to cool to one side.

3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt and leave to one side.

4. In another bowl, add the mashed banana and milk, and whisk in the eggs one by one. Add the jaggery and butter mixture. Whisk again until properly mixed.

5. Gently fold the wet ingredients to the flour mixture until mixed together, then pour the batter into the tin. Decorate by slice the remaining banana lengthways into inch slices and place over the top of the batter. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool before slicing.