I’m sure you sometimes wonder what to do with very ripe bananas. Eat them right away, or maybe freeze them? The best way is to bake banana bread! Here is a simple and proven recipe.
Banana bread is extremely popular in the United States and that’s where it came from. It owes its success to its simplicity and quick preparation, because you can make it in just a little over ten minutes with ingredients you usually have at home. Then you just have to wait for it to bake.
So this dessert is a great solution, when unexpected guests come to visit or you feel like something sweet. You can also pack banana bread as a second breakfast for school, work and university or take it with you on a trip and freeze it. It’s hard to find a more versatile cake, isn’t it?
Banana bread – ingredients
To bake banana bread, you need just a few ingredients. Prepare:
2 large or 3 medium sized very ripe bananas (should yield about 1 ½ cups of banana puree),
⅓ cup of melted, slightly cooled butter,
½ teaspoon baking soda,
pinch of salt,
½ cup white or brown sugar (you can give more or less sugar depending on how sweet you like your baked goods, you can also add vanilla sugar),
1 large egg (at room temperature – it whips better),
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract,
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour,
optionally cinnamon, chopped nuts or dried fruit, e.g. cranberries.
How to prepare step by step:
Set the oven to 170 degrees. Line a small cake tin (preferably about 10 × 20 cm) with baking paper or grease with fat, such as butter, and sprinkle with flour or breadcrumbs.
Melt the butter in the microwave and set aside to cool.
Sift the flour into a bowl, add baking soda and a pinch of salt, or cinnamon.
Peel bananas and mash with a fork in another, larger bowl. Pour slightly cooled butter into the mashed bananas.
In another bowl pour sugar and beat egg. You can whisk it with a fork or mix it – then the mixture will be fluffier and the dough will rise better.
Pour the beaten egg and sugar mixture into the bowl with bananas and butter. Stir and pour in the flour with additives and vanilla extract. At this stage you can also add chopped nuts or dried fruit, depending on your preference. Gently mix all the ingredients together.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Banana bread should bake for 50-55 minutes, until dry. After this time turn off the oven, but do not open it. Only after a few minutes, open the door and take the cake out.
Such a sweet baked good doesn’t need any toppings, but if you feel like it, spread some butter and your favorite jam on the cut piece. Banana bread also makes a delicious combination with peanut butter.
Banana bread is best stored at room temperature for four days. It can also be frozen – either whole or in pieces (slices). The dough should keep in the freezer for three to four months. After that time, of course, the bread will be edible, but longer freezing time affects the texture and flavor.
A variation of the recipe can also be found atsimplyrecipes.com
