Marlene Dietrich’s Banana Nut Bread

Ah, lovely!  I had two bananas left over from the Vincent Price Bounty of Paradise dinner party because I forgot to add them to the pork chops main course.  So you know what happens when you have two bananas lying around the place over-ripening by the minute…?  Banana Nut Bread!  I made this almost exactly to Marlene’s recipe, but as two bananas weren’t quite 1 cup’s worth, I added a bit of the family brew (100 ml of Geist Weiss) just to see what would happen.  The booze laden version is detailed over here on my Hammerton Brewery Beerblog…

Here’s Marlene’s recipe, with my metrification (is that a word?) – I weighed everything as I went along, as I’m not totally sure that my measuring cups are the same size as American measuring cups.  You would think after 10 years of writing this blog I would have checked, but I haven’t, yet…

Here’s a little clip of me on the telebox sitting next to that hunk Alex James from Blur discussing Marlene’s Banana Nut Bread – ha ha!

Marlene Dietrich’s Banana Nut Bread

1 and 3/4 cups / 200 grams sifted all-purpose [plain] flour

3/4 teaspoon soda [bicarbonate of soda]

1 and 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup / 75g shortening [I used butter]

2/3 cup / 150g sugar [I used caster/superfine sugar]

2 eggs

1 cup mashed banana pulp [about 2.5 bananas]

1/2 cup / 75g  finely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to  moderate (180–190°C / 350–375°F / gas mark 4)

Sift flour; measure and sift again with soda, cream of tartar and salt [note, you only need to measure and sift again if you are using the American measurements, if using gram measurements, sift away with the other ingredients].  Cream shortening; add sugar gradually; and cream until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add dry ingredients alternately with banana pulp; beat until thoroughly combined; and add walnut meats.  Pour into well greased loaf pan (4x9x3); bake 1 hour or until done.

Thanks Marlene, this recipe is a winner, especially with a drop of Hammertons thrown in!