Banana Date Syrup Recipes

DATE-SWEETENED BANANA BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan. (Can be lined with parchment if it is aluminum.)
• Place the dates in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the hot water and allow the dates to soften for at least 10 minutes. (I usually get the rest of my ingredients ready while the dates are softening.)
• Turn the mixer on low speed and blend until the water has incorporated with the dates. Turn the mixer to medium low speed and beat the dates until a smooth puree forms.
• Add the butter or coconut oil and beat until well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix.
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter-date mixture and mix until just combined.
• Fold in the mashed bananas and walnuts.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes (I made it in many different ovens with this range of time), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out barely clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool on a rack.

SESAME, DATE AND BANANA CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/200 degrees Celsius. Grease an 8-inch/20-centimeter aluminum springform cake pan with butter, and line the base and sides with parchment paper.
• Make the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk together tahini and orange juice, and then stir in dates, bananas and sesame seeds, separating the date and banana pieces as you add them to the bowl so they don't clump together. Set aside.
• Put butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, in two additions, until combined, scraping the bowl down as needed.
• In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt, then add to the stand mixer bowl and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds, just to combine. Add tahini-date mixture with the speed still on low and mix until blended, then spoon the batter into the cake pan and smooth the top.
• Transfer cake to oven and bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Without removing it from the oven, carefully cover the cake loosely with aluminum foil. Continue to bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes, or until cake is cooked through and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and set aside to cool in the pan on a wire rack.
• While the cake is baking, make the icing: Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk for 1 to 2 minutes, on medium speed, until combined and airy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed to mix thoroughly. Set aside until cake has cooled.
• Make the caramelized bananas: Heat broiler on its highest setting, with a rack placed about 4 inches/10 centimeters beneath the heat source. Arrange banana slices closely together on a small baking pan and sprinkle generously with sugar. Broil bananas for 2 to 3 minutes, until sugar has melted and caramelized. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
• To assemble, remove the cake from the pan and transfer to a plate. Spread icing generously over the top of the cake. Arrange the caramelized bananas on top, then drizzle with date syrup.

BANANA-DATE SYRUP

Steps:

• Combine the banana, dates and juice in a blender, and puree until very smooth.
• Add more juice if you want it thinner.
• Sprinkle in a bit of cinnamon if you like.
• Serve immediately.
• This gets sweeter if you store it very long in the refrigerator but it TASTES BEST fresh.

BANANA AND DATE MUFFINS

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F
• In a medium bowl, mix together wet ingredients - meshed-up very ripe bananas, coconut oil, egg, sugar, and vanilla extract.
• Add flour, baking soda and salt to the bowl. Mix well.
• Fold chopped-up dates into the mixture.
• Line muffin tin with muffin/cupcake paper cups. Fill 2/3 of each muffin cup with mixture. This recipe yields 10-12 muffins.
• Bake muffin for 18 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the middle of one of the muffins. Muffin is done if toothpick comes out clean. If not, bake for another minute or so.
• Remove muffin from muffin tin and let it cool on cooling rack for 10 minutes.
• Serve and enjoy!

BANANA DATE CAKE WITH WALNUT & HONEY GLAZE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Butter and line the base of an 18cm Bundt mould or round cake tin with baking parchment. Put the flour, cinnamon, butter, sugar, eggs and honey in a large mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or hand-held electric mixer until light and fluffy.
• Mash the bananas and chop the dates. Stir into the cake mix with the walnuts. Spoon into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake for 40-50 mins until firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (a round tin may take 10-20 mins more). Cool in the tin for 15 mins, then turn out and cool on a wire rack.
• To make the glaze, put the honey and butter in a small pan and bring to the boil, stirring until the butter has melted. Boil briefly, about 1 min, until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the walnuts. Leave to cool until thickened and opaque. Spoon over the top of the cake and leave to set.