Ultimate Banana Bread Recipe – Easy & Indulgent
I don’t know about you, but I hate when my bananas become too ripe. They take on a sickly sweet flavor and lose their texture, making it difficult to stomach. What to do… With all the chaos that ensued at the beginning of the lockdown (including food shortages), the last thing anyone wants is wastage. Luckily, there is a way to magically turn ripe and mushy bananas into a delectable afternoon tea treat! This ultimate banana bread recipe is easy and indulgent
When making banana bread, you don’t really need many utensils. You might see others making use of electric whisks or kitchen aids, but trust me, all you need is either a wooden spoon or a hand whisk to mix the ingredients.
For other equipment, invest in a set of measuring spoons and cups. They’ll take up less space in your kitchen and will save you from weighing out your ingredients.
It’s important that you use bananas that are as ripe as possible, the skin should be almost covered in black spots without the inside rotting of course. Depending on the ripeness, you can alter the level of sweetness you can add.
I prefer to look for alternatives to granulated sugar since it poses many health risks, but brown sugar is often my go-to. You could also add honey, stevia, maple syrup or even omit the excess sweeter altogether and just add more bananas.
Once you try my ultimate banana bread recipe, you’ll be itching for another batch!
Ultimate Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour *spoon and leveled
- ⅓ cup plain low-fat yoghurt *Greek yoghurt is ideal
- 2 large eggs *at room temperature
- ½ 1 stick unsalted butter *softened to room temperature
- 4 ripe bananas *mashed
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup chopped pecans/walnuts *optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F/177C and move your rack down so that your banana bread will not be baking on the top row.
- If you are using a metal loaf baking tin, line it with parchment paper or grease with some butter. I use a silicon loaf tin so if you opt for that, you can skip this step.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt) in a large bowl.
- In another bowl, whisk the butter and sugar together until creamy. You can do this by hand or a electric mixer if you have one.
- Add each egg one by one and whisk in until incorporated. (If you're using an electric mixer, temper the speed accordingly--now is the time for a medium setting)
- Now beat in the yoghurt, mashed bananas and vanilla extract until the mixture is blended.
- Lower the speed on your mixer if using one, and sift in the dry ingredients to avoid lumps. Fold in carefully until all is incorporated and do not overmix.
- If you are adding nuts, carefully fold them in to the mixture with a spatula.
- Spoon in the mixture into the baking tin and smooth out. Lightly tap the tin on the counter to remove air bubbles.
- Now place in the oven and let it bake for an hour. Half way through, cover the banana bread with aluminium foil to prevent it from over-browning.
- After the hour has passed, insert a toothpick into the center of the bread and if it comes out clean, the bread is ready! If not, leave to bake at 10 minute intervals, checking for doneness as you go.
- Remove the banana bread from the oven and place on a wired rack until completely cooled.
- Carefully remove the bread from the tin (this should be very simple if you are using a silicon e mold) and slice into individual portions.
- Enjoy with a hot, steaming cup of coffee or tea!
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