I really love banana bread. It's perfect as a dessert, snack, and my favorite way to enjoy it is over breakfast in the morning. Plus you can eat it cold, or warm it up just a touch and melt some butter over a slice. Delicious! And while the recipe below uses fresh, ripe bananas, I always like to keep a couple in my freezer for when the hankering for banana bread strikes. They will turn brown, but as long as they're frozen, they'll still be good.
Banana bread is also a great place to get creative. You can add nuts or leave them out, include chocolate chips or, also one of my personal favorites, white chocolate chips. You can even decide on whether or not to pour a glaze over it after it comes out of the oven. In this version, I've kept the nuts but have left out all the other extras. I was hungry and wanted this banana bread fast!
Southern Banana Bread
1 loaf, about 10 thick slices
10 minutes
1 hour, 20 minutes
1 hour, 30 minutes
5 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Zest of one lemon
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray the bottom only of a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Beat butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat well for about 5 minutes. Add egg, egg whites, and vanilla and beat until well blended. Add mashed banana and beat on high for 30 seconds.
Combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder and lemon zest in a large bowl. Add flour mixture to butter and sugar mixture in the mixing bowl, alternately with cream, ending with the flour mixture. Add pecans to the batter and mix well.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake until the bread has risen slightly ,the top is nicely browned, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Cool bread in pan on wire rack for 20 minutes before removing bread from the loaf pan and cooling completely on a wire rack.