Banana Bread With Rum Soaked Raisins

Much like the avocado, the unpredictable speed at which a banana ripens always takes me by surprise. From one day to the next the skin can unexpectedly change from a child’s favourite colour in the crayon box, to the hardly ever sharpened and least used brown. Just as I would use the ripened flesh of an avocado to make guacamole, I use an overripe banana to whip up banana bread. While my grandmum’s recipe is far more traditional than this recipe, the inclusion of spiced rum, nutmeg and walnuts can easily be considered a nod to fall. A change in season hardly recognized in the Bahamas, but nevertheless I plan to embrace the flavours of the season in the kitchen this year.

| INGREDIENTS |
5 over-ripe bananas
1 cup rum-soaked raisins (the night before, steep raisins in rum. I recommend John Watling’s Amber Rum for its complimentary flavours)
1/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp of vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

| DIRECTIONS |
Heat oven to 350 degrees and grease one loaf pan. After mashing up ripened bananas, in a standing mixer cream together: butter, brown sugar, vanilla and egg. Then blend in sifted dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Gently fold in raisins, walnuts and mashed bananas. Pour into greased pan and bake for 35 minutes, at which time test with skewer and if needed bake longer until skewer comes out clean.