The Ultimate Banana Bread!

Honestly I was never a big fan of banana bread or I would say never quite craved for it.  However, since the drop of banana prices from over AUD$9/kg to less than AUD$3/kg, we have been buying bananas quite a bit and with just the 2 of us at home, was hard to finish it before it goes black! Hence, I decided instead of letting it rot and throwing it away, I decided to make banana bread!  I didnt quite have a recipe on hand hence went searching for it on the internet, one which looks simple and calls for all the ingredients I already have at home.  The outcome of that recipe was very disappointing, the bread was dry, the taste of banana wasnt strong enough and the colour wasnt appealing!  Really gives one an incomplete feeling and at that moment I really craved for a good banana bread.  My partner was kind enough and got me a good banana bread from somewhere in the CBD area of Sydney the next day!  The satisfaction was temporary and furthermore banana bread is not cheap as a piece is sold at around $3-$3.50 at most places and most of the time, it is not that good!  Hence, I started my quest to search for an ultimate banana bread recipe.  Lucky me, this didnt take too long as all I had to do was asked one of my collegue at work who was a former pastry chef and she immediately emailed me the recipe (Thanks heaps Christina P!).  The source of the recipe was from a 5 star hotel where she did her apprenticeship there many years back.  After trying the recipe, I must say this is definitely an ultimate banana bread recipe!  It is so simple to make and people that tasted it (even the pickiest of the lot as far as food is concern) loved it!  Since getting the recipe, I have experimented it many times and coming up with my own portioning of ingredients but still maintaining the majority of the base recipe.  Anyways, for those banana bread lovers out there, do give the recipe below a try and let me know how it goes!

Ingredients:
(Yield 2 medium size loaf pan)
600g very ripe bananas, mashed
300g brown sugar (add more if you like, the original recipe called for 500g but for me 300g is just nice)
450g plain flour
25g baking soda
6 eggs
250ml milk
250ml canola oil
2 tbsp honey
8 handful of chopped roasted walnuts (optional)

Method:
1) Preheat oven to 170C
2) Line 2 medium size loaf pan with baking paper
3) Place all dry ingredients in a mixer bowl with a paddle attachment and mix ingredients until combined
4) Add in all the liquid ingredients and mixed until lump free
5) Pour into loaf pan and bake for about 1 hr 10 mins or until done.  Use the toothpick method to check for doneness.
6) Let cool in pan about 25 mins.  Remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.
NOTES:
a) This recipe is pretty flexible hence if you do not have a mixer, dont despair, as it could all be mixed up in a big bowl, the outcome will just be as good!
b) If you do not have a fan force oven, its important to turn the pan around every 20-25 minutes to ensure the sides do not burn or brown too quickly.
c) To freeze, slice them and wrap them in a plastic wrap.  Before serving, heat up in the microwave for approximately 30 seconds.