Banana bread could either fall into the breakfast or dessert section. I love to challenge myself especially when it revolves around baking. I am becoming a self taught expert and loving the results more. Trust me, before I decided to settle on this particular recipe, I read and watched hundreds of other recipes – most of them confused me till I had to put it on hold – that was two months ago.

Yesterday, I decided to wear my big girl pants and try bring this image of a moist banana bread to life, and I did exactly that. It came to life and so did my kitchen – it smelt like heaven.

Making “Moist Banana Bread”.

Prep time: 15 mins  Rest time: 1 hour  Bake time: 65 mins {1 hour -5 mins}

Total time: 2 hours 20 min

Yields: 2 banana bread

MAIN INGREDIENTS:

• 1 – 1/2 cups of ripe big banana {or 5 small} – mashed
• 5 eggs
• 6 Table spoons of whole milk + 1 tea spoon of vinegar = Buttermilk
• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 cup { OR 8 Table spoons} of margarine / unsalted butter – Softened
• 1 tea spoon of vanilla extract
• 1 tea spoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 tea spoon of salt
• 2 tea spoons of banking powder
• Sprinkles & sesame seeds – OPTIONAL

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a bowl, mash the bananas using a fork till well blended. Add in Vanilla extract + eggs -slightly beaten + butter milk. Mix well to combine. Using an electric hand mixer, add in the margarine and pulse on low heat till well blended – Set aside.

NB: On this stage you could decide to: cream the sugar + butter + vanilla extract + egg -1 by 1 – then fold in the mashed bananas using a spatula.

2. In a different bowl, mix the dry ingredients together: flour + sugar + salt + baking powder. Add in the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix everything well till all flour is incorporated to form a sticky batter-  DON’T OVER MIX IT.

3. Using a 8 by 4 inch non stick loaf pan – 2 batches will be formed from this. If you have a larger loaf pan, 1 batch will be enough. Generously grease the loaf pan with butter or margarine, pour in half of the batter + add some sprinkles {Optional step on the sprinkles}. Let the batter sit on a warm place for 1 hour before baking it.

4. Pre heat your oven to: 350 ° Fahrenheit / 180 ° Celsius and bake for 65 mins. Always have a barbecue skewer – to help you check if it cooked through, by poking it all the way to the center- if it comes out clean, the bread is cooked through and ready. Let it cool while still in the pan for 20 mins – then remove it from the pan onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

5. If you have remaining batter, add it on to the loaf pan, decorate it how you like it. I decided to got with sesame seeds and half a sliced banana, then placed it right in the middle of the batter. Bake it for another 65 mins {With only one loaf pan – I had to wait another 1 hour 5 min} if you’ve got several the less time you use.

Final outcome:

Baking Tips:

• If you don’t have a loaf pan, you can use a bundt pan. Decrease the cooking time to 50-60 minutes.
• If you don’t have ripe bananas, place them (with peels on) in a 240 degree oven for 15 minutes.
• To avoid the bread from cracking at the center, place the loaf pan on rack 3 to avoid direct heat {I place mine on rack 1 -hence the crack}
• Avoid over mixing the batter. If you over mix it, while baking the batter will want to stretch out more to emit the excess steam – hence cracking.

Love and Love

TD.