I believe everyone should have a banana bread recipe in their repertoire. It’s such an easy and delicious quick bread for breakfast or afternoon snack. Here is one of my favourite banana bread recipe and I’m going to show you how to present it in two different ways.
Easy One-Bowl Banana Bread Recipe
Banana bread is one of my favorite one-bowl recipes. For me, the hardest part about making banana bread is waiting for the bananas to ripen. Since I like to use really ripe bananas, this usually requires me to plan ahead and buy the fruit at least 4-5 days ahead of time. The riper the bananas, the sweeter and more flavourful they get. This also means I can use less sugar in my batter.
The amount of sugar in my recipe is for very ripe bananas, ones that have started to turn half brown and are soft to the touch. If you use bananas that are less ripe, you can increase the amount of sugar up to 1/4 cup.
Banana Bread Two Ways
Usually, banana bread is baked in a loaf pan. I guess that’s why they are called banana “bread” because it’s shaped like a loaf of bread. But for a nicer presentation, I’ve tried baking it in an 8×8″ cake pan and it turned out beautifully. The recipe is exactly the same. However, if you want to decorate the top like what I did in the photo, you’d need an extra banana. This is not a necessary step but it does make the banana bread look fancier. Since this version of the banana bread looks more like a cake, I like to serve it with some creme fraiche on the side to make it extra posh!
Banana Bread Recipe
Banana Bread Two Ways Recipe
Ingredients
For the banana bread loaf (makes one 4 x 8" loaf)
- 3 very ripe bananas
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup sugar (add more if your bananas are not as ripe/sweet)
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
For the banana bread "cake" (makes one 8 x 8" cake)
- all the ingredients from above
- 1 banana, sliced into rounds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter your loaf or cake pan.
- As you peel your bananas, break them off into large chunks and put them in a medium bowl. Using a sturdy metal whisk (alternatively, you can use a fork), mash bananas until smooth. Add in melted butter and mix well.
- Stir in baking soda and salt.
- Add the egg and whisk everything thoroughly. Then mix in sugar and vanilla.
- Finally combine the flour thoroughly into the mixture.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan. If you are making banana cake, place the banana slices on top of the batter.
- Bake it for 55 minutes to 1 hour 10 minutes, checking at 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- When done, remove from oven and let banana bread cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Once cooled, slice (preferably with a bread knife) and serve.
