Ingredients

• 1 tsp bicarb soda
• 300g sour cream
• 100ml thickened cream
• 125g unsalted butter, melted, cooled, plus extra softened butter to serve
• 250g caster sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups (300g) plain flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 large over-ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup (80g) pitted chopped dates
• 1/4 cup (20g) flaked almonds
• Honey, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 28cm x 12cm loaf pan with baking paper.
2. Whisk the bicarbonate of soda and sour cream together in a bowl and stand for 5 minutes.
3. Add the thickened cream, cooled butter, sugar and egg to the sour cream mixture and stir to combine.
4. Sift in the flour, cinnamon and baking powder, stirring to combine, then stir in mashed banana and dates.
5. Pour mixture into the loaf pan and sprinkle with almonds. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (cover loosely with foil if browning too quickly). 
6. Cool the loaf in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
7. Serve the date and banana loaf warm or cool with butter and honey. Serves 8.

From the book delicious. Weekends by Valli Little. Reproduced with the permission of delicious magazine and ABC Books.