Not Another Banana Bread Recipe
I think I first heard of banana bread sometime in 2010, back then it seemed like such an exotic thing to make, using overripe mashed bananas to sweeten and flavour an afternoon snack/breakfast type cake.
Later on, in the pandemic, this was probably the go to bake everyone was making, and I am not ashamed to admit I tried all sorts of variations with it myself. I had even found a cheeky t-shirt claiming “I’m staying home and making banana bread” (it’s such a shame they don’t make it anymore, mine is getting to the end of its natural life :(().
Needless to say I’ve added chocolate, cinnamon, nuts of all sorts to it, spices galore. And yet, at the end of the day, the original is still my favourite. Letting the banana flavour shine through, lifted only by a bit of vanilla and a shot of espresso, enhanced by chocolate chips (and mayyybeee some nuts, if you have them, I was tragically out).
I find this bake so versatile, it’s great as breakfast or a mid-afternoon snack, goes so well with tea or coffee and, should you want to take it to the next level, as I do, slather a slice in salted butter and marvel at the fact that banana bread can, in fact, be improved on. or just a little something to cheers your coworkers up on an autumn day.
It’s also fantastic to transport so it makes a great housewarming gift, picnic basket add on,
This cake loves mix-ins so please let me know what you like to have it with and don’t forget to subscribe for more weekly recipes straight to your inbox!
Ingredients (makes a 30 cm loaf pan)
3 ripe bananas
1 shot (50ml) espresso or very strong coffee
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g (3/4 cup) brown sugar
120g (1 stick) butter, room temperature
250g (1 cup) flour
1tsp sodium bicarbonate
1/2 tsp salt
100g mix-ins: chocolate chips, toasted nuts work best, feel free to make it your own
Optional, for decoration: 1 banana cut in half longitudinally, 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius
Grease a loaf pan and line with parchment paper
In a bowl, mash the 3 bananas to a purée
Cream the butter and sugar together until nice and fluffy. A hand mixer works best for this. Add the eggs one by one and incorporate well. Add the mashed bananas, espresso and vanilla extract.
In a separate large bowl, lightly mix the flour, salt, bicarbonate.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry, without overmixing.
Mix in the chocolate chips, nuts. Lightly fold them in.
Pour the mixture in the prepared loaf tin.
If you’d like, you can decorate with the halved banana and sprinkle the tablespoon of sugar on top for a delicious crust
Bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Enjoy and share with your loved ones! xx