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Nigerian Banana Bread

Also known as Nigerian Banana Bread (Agege-Style Sweet Loaf)

Nigerian Banana Bread is a richly flavoured, deeply golden, moist sweet loaf made from very overripe bananas that would otherwise be thrown away — a Nigerian expression of the universal human genius for transforming excess into something delicious. The Nigerian version is richer than the Western banana bread, with more eggs, evaporated milk and butter for extra moistness, and fragrant with nutmeg — the characteristic Nigerian baked goods spice.

Nigerian Banana Bread, Nigerian cooking

Ingredients

  • 3 big very ripe bananas (almost entirely black skin), mashed completely smooth
  • 2 big cups of plain flour
  • 1 big cup of sugar
  • 2 big eggs
  • A big cooking spoon of butter or margarine, melted
  • Half a tin of evaporated milk
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
  • Half a teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • A pinch of salt

Method

  1. 01

    Mashing the Bananas. Peel the very overripe bananas and mash them in a bowl until completely smooth — no lumps should remain. The blacker and softer the bananas, the sweeter and more fragrant the bread.

  2. 02

    Combining the Wet Ingredients. Add the melted butter, eggs, evaporated milk and vanilla extract to the mashed banana. Whisk together until smooth and well-combined.

  3. 03

    Adding the Dry Ingredients. Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg and salt together. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture. Fold gently with a spoon — do not overmix. Overmixing develops the flour's gluten and makes the bread tough. Mix just until the flour is incorporated.

  4. 04

    Baking. Pour the batter into a greased loaf tin. Smooth the surface. Bake in a preheated oven at a moderate heat for 55 to 65 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. The top should be deep golden-brown and slightly cracked along the centre — this is correct.

  5. 05

    Cooling. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing — cutting too soon makes the interior gummy.

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