Banana bread with hemp-seed “butter”

For the banana bread, preheat the oven to 180°C.

Grease and line a 20 x 12,5cm loaf tin with baking paper.

Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and ground spices together into a mixing bowl. Set aside until needed.

Using an electric hand-held/stand mixer, cream the butter and castor sugar together until light and fluffy.

To the butter mixture, add the eggs, 4 overripe mashed bananas, buttermilk and vanilla. Whisk until well combined. Add the flour mixture to the batter. Fold through until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin. Place the 2 halves of the ripe banana on top of the batter, gently pushing into it.

Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the loaf, about 1 hour.

Remove from oven and leave in the tin to cool slightly. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the hemp seed “butter”, place all the ingredients in the bowl of a stick blender and mix on high speed until a thick butter is formed. Add a little more coconut oil for a smoother texture, if needed.

Taste and add more maple syrup to sweeten, if desired.

Serve alongside the freshly sliced banana bread.