This delicious version of banana bread includes sticky sweet maple syrup and pecans. A crunchy pecan topping adds great texture. I like to drizzle this loaf cake with a simple icing, but it’s just as delicious without it.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sour cream or Greek Yoghurt (low fat is fine)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Topping:

• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tbsp maple syrup

Icing:

• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 2- 3 tsp milk

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and generously grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, maple syrup, oil, vanilla and bananas until smooth and blended.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Add the pecans.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan.
6. Prepare the topping: stir together the pecans and maple syrup. Sprinkle the topping over the batter.
7. Bake for about one hour, until a toothpick inserted in centre of cake comes out clean. Cool completely before drizzling with icing.
8. For the icing: stir together the icing sugar and the milk until smooth. If mixture is too thin, add a little more icing sugar. If it’s too thick, thin it out with a touch of milk. Drizzle icing over the cooled cake.