Dan Lepard's Banana maple pecan buns

After hearing 'Banana Cake' mentioned over a number of times on the radio, I got to wanting one so much, that I had my eye on a couple of bananas.  In our household of two there is a bit of a tussle over bananas.  Mr S loves them really ripe, and that is just when they are right for baking. Yesterday when I mentioned this, he 'sacrificed' his lunch time treat.

As I started to look through my recipe journal, I decided I wanted to try something new, and the first book I lay my hands on was Dan Lepard's Short and Sweet.    I consulted Mr S as I did not want to disappoint him as he was probably expecting banana cake.  A few times this week he has been disappointed as I replaced some of his favourite lunches last minute with some sort of salad!

He hailed them as a great idea: Friday bun day, and there would not be cake in cupboard to tempt him all weekend. Instead of having our buns at tea time, we now have one for our Friday bun day breakfast.

Additionally Dan adds at the head of the recipe: Soft, dark and moist, an alternative to hot cross buns at Easter.  How about that for coincidence: they are doubling up at it is Easter.

The recipe is available on line in case there is no book.    did not add the cocoa as I cannot tolerate chocolate anymore, and I set the buns apart, so that they did not touch, and made 15 buns rather than the 12.  One of these is a great size for breakfast.