Banana cakes/breads are a comfort tea-time snack; deep fried banana fritters (Banana Kuih) were also a decent runner up! When I was 8, my mom taught me how to bake by introducing me to her personal banana cake recipe. Here’s the trick: she measures everything by weight; never by the cup or by volume. I used to know her recipe by heart; it was in ounces. Mom would always sift her flour prior to baking; it helps knock out the air particles. I’ve adapted Mom’s recipe for a dense banana bread; her recipe creams the butter while mine melts the fat. There are endless banana bread recipes out there, but if you enjoy a satisfying slice of moist & dense banana bread, accompanied by the smell and taste of walnuts, this banana loaf is for you to enjoy with tea, hot cocoa, or coffee.
Note: If you don’t have a kitchen scale, I have provided (rough) cup measurements, but keep in mind to not use your measuring cup to scoop the flour; instead scoop and pour into the measuring cup for accuracy. Bananas are perfect for baking when they’ve got about 75% brown speckles on them. Whenever possible, use a kitchen scale! Ask Santa for one this year!
[recipe]
INGREDIENTS (Makes two loaves; 350F)
250 g margarine (1 cup)
447 g sugar (1 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp)
2 eggs, room temperature
522 g bananas, mashed, somewhat overriped (2 1/4 cup)
447 g bread flour (1 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp)
224 g walnuts, coarsely chopped (slightly less than 1 cup)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 3/4 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 tsp table salt (note that Kosher salt & table salt will provide different results in baking)
1 tsp vanilla
- Grease pans with Cake Release (1 tbsp flour, 1 tbsp shortening and 1 tbsp cooking oil).
- Melt the margarine and add sugar. Mix for a few minutes, using a hand mixer or a stand-mixer. Stir in the eggs, vanilla and mashed bananas.
- In a bowl, sift together: flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda. Add walnuts to distribute evenly. Stir into the butter mixture.
- Pour batter until 3/4 full. Bake for 45 minutes or until a cake tester/skewer comes out clean.
(Note: I over-filled mine just to see what the outcome would be like. Trust me, you don’t want to babysit the banana loaf for 2 hours.)
- Remove the loaves immediately as you can from the pans to cool on a rack. The cake will get soggy & greasy if you let it cool in the pans.
[/recipe]
My husband isn’t a fan of this recipe; he’s got a personal preference for a less dense recipe — using all-purpose flour. That is good feedback as the loaf was literally gone within 15 minutes of being out in the staff kitchen at work. (Who doesn’t like banana bread?!) Everyone loved the texture of the loaf and the walnuts.
So, there you have it! My first post since officially becoming a member of Food Bloggers of Canada. Enjoy!
I love banana bread, delish!!