We’re kicking off this week of daily recipe uploads with this delicious Spiced Apple Banana Loaf, which is the perfect Easter delight. jam packed with fruity flavour and warming spices, this is like a super moist, banana flavoured hot cross bun bread! I never actually used to enjoy banana bread as a child because.. well.. you might not be able to believe this, but I didn’t like bananas. I know right. I honestly can’t quite imagine what the thought process was when eating bananas during this period of my life, like I genuinely can’t even fathom not enjoying a banana. I mean, what’s not to like really?! And I eat them all the time now! It really just doesn’t make sense to me! Anyway.. now I absolutely love making (and eating) banana breads and they’re pretty straight forward to bake too! 

This is a slightly special one, as I’ve given it a little Easter twist! You could serve this up with some afternoon tea, dessert, or even for breakfast on Easter morning. I love to top my slices with some nut butter and fresh fruit; but you could also add some fresh raspberry jam.. oh and then maybe a good dollop of PB on there as well for the dream combo. I’m actually feeling slightly peckish talking about all of this food now, but it’s currently 10:30pm and I’m trying to stop eating so late at night at the moment..hmm, will I last until the morning now? Who knows.. 

Fun fact, this cake is actually oil free, which is something that I don’t do all that often. The mashed bananas, maple syrup and apple provide enough moisture by themselves that I didn’t feel the need to add any additional oils into the recipe. The bananas also provide natural sweetness, which therefore reduced the amount of maple syrup that I needed to add as well. Thinking about it, this is a really fruit recipe; there’s of course the apple and bananas, but also raisins and then orange zest too. Raisins are pretty much a classic ingredient for me when baking Easter themed treats and the orange zests gives everything that extra burst of flavour and a real taste of freshness. 

If you did want to make this as an Easter cake, you could also get creative with the decorations and make a pretty pink frosting or even add some little Easter eggs.. or maybe some of those cute, yellow fluffy chicks that you get in little Easter baskets. I’ve also got some really cute Easter bunny biscuits coming up on here this week, so stay tuned for those!