Pomegranate, macadamia and banana bread

Macadamias are just about my favourite kind of nuts - as creamy as white chocolate yet deliciously nutty. A perfect accompaniment to banana bread to use up the black bananas, ripe-as-you-like in our fruit bowl, which were sitting alongside two pomegranates that were beginning to look tired and a little wrinkly. I felt like they were calling out to me to bake them into something wonderful - and this was the result!

Ingredients

2-3 bananas  (1 cup), mashed

1 egg, lightly beaten

3 fl. oz (1/3 cup) vegetable oil 

3 fl. oz (1/3 cup) milk 

5 oz (¾ cup) soft brown sugar

5 oz (1 cup) plain flour 

5 oz (1 cup) whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp ground ginger

4 oz (1 cup) macadamia nuts, chopped

Seeds of 1 pomegranate (½ cup) *see tip at the end of recipe

For the topping

2 oz (½ cup) macadamia nuts, chopped

Seeds of 1 pomegranate (½ cup)

2 tsp soft brown sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C and grease and line a 9x5 inch loaf tin.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork.
3. Add the egg, oil and milk and beat with the fork until combined.
4. Add the sugar and mix well.
5. Sift in the flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and ginger, and fold together with a spatula until really well combined.
6. Gently stir in the chopped nuts and pomegranate.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and top with the macadamia nuts and pomegranate and a sprinkling of sugar.
8. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. If the topping looks at all like it's starting to burn or over-brown, cover the tin with foil.
9. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

* Tip for separating pomegranate seeds: Cut the pomegranate in half and place in a bowl of water. Break open the pomegranate under water to free the arils (seed sacs) - the arils will sink to the bottom of the bowl and the membrane will float to the top. Sieve the membrane from the top of the water and discard, then drain the bowl through the sieve to collect the arils.

Adapted from this recipe for pomegranate, pistachio and banana bread - using macadamia nuts instead of pistachios, half plain flour and half whole wheat, and adding a little cinnamon and ginger for a slightly spiced note - plus a whole lot of nuts, pomegranate seeds and a sugar sprinkling on top.