Jacked-Up Banana Bread
You know what they say…. if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Jacked-up, indeed.
I have a fantastic banana bread recipe that is my go-to recipe, so I don’t know why I was inclined to try a new recipe. Anyways, maybe it was because it was before 9 am on a Saturday morning, maybe I was being lazy, or maybe I just didn’t read the recipe correctly, but I forgot to add sugar to this banana bread. So I don’t know if the reasons why I don’t love this banana bread are because I forgot the sugar, if this recipe just isn’t as good as my go-to recipe. Interestingly, my main complaint about this banana bread isn’t it’s lack of sweetness– I actually don’t miss the sugar (Nate did, though)– but rather that the outside isn’t crunchy, the loaf is a bit dense, the bottom is particularly dense, and it’s all a bit mushy.
Really I should try making it one more time, just to be fair. But, hey, if you want a recipe for banana bread that requires no sugar (and you’re not as picky about the details), here you go!
It came out of the oven looking nice and puffy and perfect, and then as it cooled it just kind of fell in on itself. And, I know it sounds silly, but I was really bummed out by the lack of crispy crust. It really is the little things that matter most!
With that, I think I can safely count this as a “fail.”
Jacked-Up Banana Bread
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
This banana bread is quick and easy to make, and you only need one mixing bowl. I added some crystallized ginger nibs for some extra texture and flavor.
3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted salted butter
3/4 to 1 cup light brown sugar [or none, if you feel like it (or forget...)]
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of ground cloves
1 1/2 cup of flour
Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.
Funny… I have to force myself to follow along with a recipe or i forget what I have already added or I skip over ingredients too!
I love that everyone has a go-to recipe that they use for banana bread. For years I used my Grandmother’s recipe. Then I was given a recipe that used sour cream and I have never looked back! My grandmother’s recipe was a classic, but the addition of the sour cream makes for a very moist loaf that my household seems to love.
I have tried a couple banana bread recipes with plain yogurt, but never sour cream. That sounds amazing!!
Here is the recipe… I have to admit that I often substitute the sour cream with yogurt as I don’t often have sour cream on hand but always have yogurt in the fridge when it comes time to use up some overly ripe bananas!
Banana Bread
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
314 cup oil (corn vegetable, canola, NOT olive)
ll2 cup sour cream
ll4 tsp cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
I teasspoon baking soda
I cup mashed banana
ll2 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups all purpose flour
Heat oven to 375,lightly grease a 12by 4 112 inch by x4 pan. (I’ve also used a 9×5 pan). set aside.
mix together the sugar,eggs,oil. Add the sour cream, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda. Stir
till well blended. Add mashed bananas to the mixture, add the flour and the nuts and stir till
combined. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes till a toothpick in the middle
comes out clean.Let cool and serve.
Note: I am a purist so I make a plain batch for myself, but I have also added mini chocolate chips to this and my family thinks they are delicious with the banana flavor. This is an especially moist bread and keeps very well.