Masala chai banana bread with coconut, cream cheese and cardamom icing

My loaf tins are standard 900g/2lb loaf tins, approximately 23cm x 13cm x 7cm

Makes 2 loaves
mixed dried fruit (such as berries, cherries, figs and sultanas) 150g
Masala tea blend 75ml, strongly brewed
unsalted butter 125g
plain flour 175g
baking powder 2 ½ tsp
freshly ground cardamom ½ tsp
salt ½ tsp
bananas 3 medium, very ripe
light brown sugar 150g
eggs 2 large, at room temperature
vanilla extract 1 tsp

For the coconut, cream cheese and cardamom icing
coconut powder 3 tbsp
milk 2 tbsp, full fat, warm
cream cheese 1 x 180g pack
mascarpone cheese 1 x 250g tub
icing sugar 5 tbsp
cardamom pods 2, seeds removed, freshly ground
pistachios chopped
edible dried rose petals

Steep the dried fruit with the hot masala chai for an hour.

Preheat oven to 170C/gas mark 3 and either pop a paper case into each of two loaf tins or line with two strips of parchment paper. Put the butter in a heatproof bowl and place in the oven to melt. Check after 3-4 minutes.

Place the flour, baking powder, ground cardamom and salt in a small bowl and combine. Set aside.

Mash the bananas, coarsely, and set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat together the cooled melted butter and the sugar until creamy and caramel in colour. Add the eggs, one at a time and make sure to beat well after each one.

Add the bananas and the vanilla extract and mix well.

Add the combined flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. Finally, stir in the drained fruit.

Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pans and bake for 50 minutes. Test with a wooden skewer, which should come out moist but not with batter clinging to it. Let cool completely before icing.

While the loaves are baking, make the icing. Stir the coconut powder into the warm milk until smooth. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the cream cheese and the mascarpone with a rubber spatula then add the coconut mixture and stir in.

Sift in the icing sugar, mixing well and taste after you have added four tablespoons – it may be sweet enough, but you may also need a fifth tablespoon to get a better consistency.

Stir in the freshly ground cardamom and set the mixture aside in the fridge. When the loaves are cold, spread with the icing and top with the chopped pistachios and rose petals.