Banana Bread//Brown Butter Cream Cheese Buttercream (optional)
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Perfect on it's own, with the featured buttercream, or topped with a smear of salted butter + a drizzle of homemade caramel.
This is a recipe for the best banana bread that you have ever tasted, and will ever taste. I'm willing to die on that hill. Oh, and if that wasn't enough, I've topped it with a gorgeous brown butter cream cheese frosting. So fluffy, so delightful...a perfect crown to the banana bread. That said, I have most definitely made this banana bread tens of times without it. It doesn't need it, it's just an option for if you want to turn it into more of a dessert proper. To be a little extra, if you will!
I’ve come across food writers asking themselves if the internet really needs another banana bread recipe. I can just imagine the thousands of them available!…Well, perhaps I just haven’t had the good fortune of landing on a wonderful recipe, but I haven’t personally come across one that was just right. So I developed my own recipe, and I feel that it’s very much worth adding to the overflowing library of banana bread recipes available. Banana bread isn’t a flashy dessert or breakfast item, but is rather a simple sweet comfort food. And with no icing or bells and whistles to hide behind, this simple treat needs to be executed perfectly. Now, this said, there is some subjectivity with regards to how individuals prefer certain elements. For example, how banana-forward it is, how sweet it is, how much cinnamon it contains, how dense or light it is, and of course the choice of nuts or chocolate. This I understand. But! What is not subjective is that the moisture is of the utmost importance, the crumb must be purposefully pleasant, and the banana, sugar, and cinnamon must be balanced. As a recipe developer, it can be difficult to make a very moist batter without overdoing it, and thereby compromising the crumb and texture. After numerous tests, I came to this version, which is my idea of perfect. It is wonderfully moist, with an unctuous texture, and my idea of the ideal balance of banana, sugar, and cinnamon. It’s neither too dense, nor too aerated, in my opinion, but right in the middle. The crust has a delicious crunch the day that it’s made, with notes of caramel, and softens overnight into a more delicate texture. I love both! I also find that banana bread develops in flavour and richness overnight, and becomes so much more moist. If I’m baking it for a friend, or if I was baking it for a café, I would always make it the day before. I want to say happy baking, and end here, for those just looking to follow this recipe! But, I would like to say a few more things for the baking enthusiasts reading, who like to understand the decisions made in the curating of a recipe. You will notice that I use coconut oil as well as butter, and that there is a greater ratio of coconut oil to butter. I use a blend of butter and oil because oil lends more moisture than butter per gram. That blew my mind when I first learned it! And, I find that if too much butter is added to achieve the same richness, the crumb suffers. I chose to use coconut oil, as opposed to a neutral oil, because I wanted to add nuance to the flavour of the banana bread. It’s not enough, however, to make the banana bread taste of coconut. It simply adds a certain je ne sais quoi to round out the flavour, but you don’t actually pick up the coconut flavour. I did a recipe test using all coconut oil, and no butter, and this did make the loaf taste of coconut. Using all oil, and no butter, will also affect the texture of the crust, making it flatter, with more air bubbles, and crunchier. I prefer the texture produced with butter added. Thus marks the end of my ramble on banana bread chemistry. I hope that it hits the spot, fills your kitchen with the most delightful smell, and ends your search for a perfectly moist and delectable banana bread recipe!
Recipe:
Makes 1 loaf
Notes
As I mention in the foreword, banana bread is SO much better the day after it’s baked. It becomes far more moist and flavourful overnight. If you're making this for somebody, an occasion, or just want to know for yourself when it will be at it’s prime, be mindful of this and make it the day before! It will remain equally delicious over the days following.
If you don't want a buttercream proper, but want to turn it into more of a dessert still, option to add a smear of salted butter and a little drizzle of homemade caramel. A finishing sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top of the caramel is nice too.
I was in a bit of a hurry when I made the pictured loaf, and had to use cold cream cheese, straight from the fridge. That's why the buttercream doesn't appear as smooth as it normally does (still delicious though!). As stated in the recipe, using room-temperature cream cheese will yield a perfectly smooth buttercream.
I specify the type of salt used, as different salts are more or less salty than others. If you don’t have the same kind of salt used, be mindful of this and adjust accordingly. Generally speaking, pink Himalayan salt is less salty than most others.
Top tip for room-temperature eggs: if ever you don’t have the time to take them out of the fridge early enough, or yet if you forget, you can place them in a bowl covered with hot water for 5 minutes, and they will become room-temperature just like that!
If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, and don’t want to buy a whole container of it, a trick is to simply mix in some lemon juice into whole milk (although frankly, whatever percentage of milk you have at home will do). For this recipe, replace 1 of the tablespoons of milk with lemon juice. Therefore, replace the buttermilk with 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice. Just mix it together in a small bowl before mixing with the mashed bananas and vanilla.
The 1/2 tsp of cinnamon called for will yield a delicate cinnamon flavour. If you want a very subtle cinnamon flavour, rather use 1/4 tsp. If you want a strong flavour, rather use 3/4 tsp. Option to omit the cinnamon altogether if that’s how you prefer it.
I typically make my banana bread with walnuts as opposed to chocolate chips. I want to highlight that chocolate is sweet, and that using chocolate chips will effectively make the overall loaf sweeter. I personally would leave the sugar content as is, as I think that it can take the extra sweetness, and still not be sickly sweet. However, if you know that you don’t like things to be on the sweet side, and you want to use chocolate chips, feel free to take out 1-2 tbsp of sugar from the recipe.
I recommend using the measurement in grams or cups provided for the bananas. This will be more accurate than the 3 large bananas reference, which I provide as a rough reference.
I generally recommend using the measurements in grams, as this doesn’t allow for human error, such as packing the ingredients more or less tightly. They are provided, however, for those without a scale. For the flour in particular, make sure that you don’t pack it.
The bananas must be very ripe, both for their flavour, and sugar contents. This is essential.
Banana Bread
Ingredients
225 g (1 1/2 cups) cake flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 + 1/8 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (pink Himalayan)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
275 g (1 cup + 2 tbsp mashed/3 large) very ripe bananas
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp buttermilk, room temperature
2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
113 g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
170 g (3/4 cup) coconut oil (room-temperature—a.k.a. in solid form)
240 g (1 cup + 1 tbsp) light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs, room temperature
65 g (1/2 cup) chopped walnuts, pecans, or dark chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and ensure that oven rack is positioned in the middle.
Butter and flour your baking tin.
If you’re using nuts, lightly toast them until fragrant and lightly golden. You may do this in a toaster oven, oven, or dry pan. Set aside to cool.
Sift flour into a medium bowl. Add in baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Mix.
Mash bananas. I like to do this on a plate, as opposed to a bowl, using a fork. Add the mashed bananas to a medium bowl, along with the buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Mix.
In a large bowl, add butter, coconut oil, and brown sugar. Beat on high speed with an electric mixer for 1 minute and 30 seconds.
Add eggs to butter-oil-sugar mixture, one at a time. Beat on high for 1 minute after each addition.
Add in dry ingredients and wet ingredients, alternating in additions; do 3 rounds of dry ingredients, and 2 rounds of wet ingredients. Begin and end with dry ingredients. Each addition should be fully combined on low speed. Do not over mix.
Fold in your nuts of choice, or chocolate.
Formal instruction: smell the finished batter. I think they should make a candle that smells like this!
Pour batter into the loaf tin. Even out the top with the back of a spoon.
Place the banana bread in the oven, and bake for 1 hour-1 hour and 5 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out virtually crumbless. If you’re new to baking—if the toothpick comes out with wet batter, or many wet crumbs, let it bake for 2-3 more minutes, and repeat the process until this is no longer the case.
Let the loaf cool in its tin for 15 minutes, and then invert it onto a cooling rack.
If you're not making the frosting, serve as is, when fully cooled. Do not refrigerate (unless you want it to turn into a pudding consistency! Or if you do, make sure it's fully at room temperature before consuming). Store at room temperature, just covered with plastic wrap. Again, I recommend making it the day before you plan to enjoy it for best results.
If you are making the brown butter frosting, proceed to the recipe below!
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Buttercream
Ingredients
200 g brown butter, room temperature [Start with 260 g butter though. We are making 200 g of brown butter. When making brown butter, you generally end up with 30% less butter than what you started with, due to evaporation during the cooking process. Hence to make 200 g we must start with 260 g.]
130 g powdered sugar (do 15 g less if you want it less sweet)
155 g cream cheese, room-temperature (or at least out of the fridge for 30 minutes)
1 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt (pink Himalayan) (I like to add an extra pinch, equivalent to 1/16 tsp)
Instructions
Make the brown butter, beginning by measuring 260 g of butter (any temperature) into a medium saucepan. [Instructions for those who don’t know how to make brown butter: Melt over medium heat, stirring every so often. Reduce heat to medium-low if your burner is aggressive; otherwise you may be fine keeping the heat on medium. Cook the butter, stirring often (especially taking care to scrape the sides and bottom), until the butter is a golden caramelized colour, and little dark caramel-coloured flecks have formed. It should smell nutty and delicious. Don’t over cook it—if the flecks are black, it’s burned. Know that the butter will keep cooking even once off the heat, so slightly err on the side of caution. Immediately remove from heat, and pour the brown butter into a bowl. Place this bowl in the fridge until the brown butter resembles the consistency of room-temperature butter, at which point it’s ready to use for the cake and buttercream.]
Place brown butter in a large bowl, and beat on high speed with an electric mixer for 3 minutes.
Add in powdered sugar, and beat on high for 3 more minutes.
Add in cream cheese. Beat on high for 2 more minutes.
Add in vanilla extract and salt, and beat for 30 more seconds.
Have fun frosting the banana bread! Feel free to dust some extra cinnamon on top, if you’d like. You can also add some cinnamon into the frosting if you feel like it—I'd start with 1/4 tsp and build from there.
Enjoy! As mentioned in the notes, this banana bread is to be eaten at room-temperature. You can store it in the fridge, which you will need to do due to the cream cheese frosting, if you’re not consuming the whole loaf in a day. Just be sure to take your portion out of the fridge early enough for it to come to room-temperature before enjoying (otherwise it won’t be soft, from the cold).
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