You may suspect that I am employing hyperbole in the title of this post. My friends, you are incorrect! This actually IS the best banana bread in the entire world. Ever. This recipe comes to me via my friend Lynette’s mum, Elaine, and it has attained legendary fame by all who have tried it as being absolutely fan-freakin’-tastically delicious. This banana bread comes out light and fluffy, sweet and moist, and is likely to disappear in a shorter amount of time than it took you to bake it. The first time I tasted it, Elaine had made a double batch, and it was absolute torture smelling it as it baked. Lynette and I then devoured an entire loaf, hot and steaming from the oven.
I have made this recipe a billion times, and I’ve played around it it a bit, so that my typical banana bread comes out slightly different from Elaine’s original recipe. I add an extra banana and some vanilla, and to convince myself that it’s a little bit good for me, I usually substitute in some whole wheat flour. Then I also usually add a bunch of chopped chocolate or chocolate chips, which effectively cancels out any health benefits the whole wheat flour might add… But whatever. It tastes divine.
From what little experience I have with baking other banana bread (because seriously, I’ve never wanted to try another recipe!), the thing that makes this recipe different is the fact that the butter is cut into the dry ingredients, as if you were making pastry or scones. This, I think, is what contributes to the light texture of the finished loaf. That, and a light hand when incorporating the wet ingredients into the dry.
When I asked Elaine if I could share her recipe here, she sent along this tip: “I usually double the recipe, add another banana and egg, but use the smaller loaf pans. I also like to put orange rind in it!” I’ll have to try the orange rind with the next batch!
Oh, and the blacker and mushier the banana, the better, in this case. I usually let them get overly-ripe in the fruit bowl, then throw them in the freezer until I have enough for a batch of banana bread. They look disgusting when they are thawing, but the banana flavour is awesome!
Chocolate chip banana bread
Elaine’s Banana Bread
This is the recipe as I got it from Elaine, with my changes/additions in brackets.
Mix together the dry ingredients:
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour (or 1 cup all purpose + 3/4 cup whole wheat)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder (+ 1/4 tsp if using whole wheat flour)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
Cut 1/2 cup butter into dry ingredients with a pastry cutter, until in pea-sized bits.
(For chocolate chip banana bread, stir 4 oz (scant 1 cup) chopped chocolate or chocolate chips into the dry ingredients after cutting in the butter.)
Mix together the wet ingredients:
2 large ripe bananas, mashed (I use 3)
2 eggs
(2 tsp vanilla)
Blend wet ingredients into dry with as few strokes as possible. Pour into a greased 9″ x 5″ loaf pan.* Bake a 350˚ F for 50-55 minutes (it usually takes 55-65 minutes for me), or until a toothpick inserted into the loaf comes out with a few crumbs stuck to it (not wet or gooey).
* As she mentioned, Elaine uses smaller pans, which reduces the baking time and probably contributes to a lighter and fluffier loaf; 9″ x 5″ is a standard loaf pan size and results in a slightly denser loaf, which still tastes fantastic!
Inspiring post Korena!
And if you are like me and want to make banana bread the moment it occurs to you that you want it, you can briefly nuke your frozen bananas to thaw them, slit them length-wise and allow them to schluuurp out of the peel! Gross, but very satisfying.
Also, I’ve noticed since I moved into the new place with the gas stove that I have to move the rack up and lower the heat slightly or the bottom cooks much quicker than the top :/
Yeah, ovens can be temperamental, especially older ones… you might need an oven thermometer to check what the temperature actually is! (But only if you’re really concerned about it 😉 )
ps
Dammit Korena, I was going to use this recipe for your exchange thing!
Hehe, sorry! 😛
Love me some banana bread. 😉
HOW LONG DO YOU LEAVE IN PAN BEFORE REMOVING? THANKING YOU IN ADVANCE. Nita
I would leave it in the pan 5 – 10 minutes after coming out of the oven – this gives it some time to firm up a little bit but not so long that it sticks in the pan (run a knife around the edge to help it out).
KORENA.. I FORGOT TO ASK YOU BEFORE ,I WANT TO DOUBLE THE RECIPE …. SORRY FOR THE STUPID QUESTION, BUT I’M CONFUSED…. ON THE BANANAS, EGGS AND VANILLA.. WOULD I USE 6 BANANAS, 4 OR 6 EGGS AND 4 TSP. VANILLA, THEN DOUBLE THE BUTTER AND DRY INGREDIENTS? AGAIN THANKING YOU IN ADVANCE.
Hi Ralph – No worries, reading through the recipe again I realize that I wrote it in sort of a confusing manner! For a double recipe, I would use 6 bananas, 4 eggs (maybe 5 but I’ve made a double batch with 4 in the past and it works great), 4 tsp vanilla, and double all the rest. I hope it turns out well for you! 🙂
Hello Korena! Wonderful post! I don’t bake much, but I found your recipe on tumblr and decided to try it out. I’m always up for some good banana bread! Though comparing mine to yours in the picture, mine doesn’t seem to be as fluffy. Could it be perhaps that I used walnuts instead of the chocolate chips? Maybe next time I will try adding an extra egg and using a smaller pan. Anyway, thanks for sharing! I will be trying your other recipes as well!
-Kellie
Hi Kellie, I’m glad you liked this post and tried the recipe! I don’t think the walnuts vs. chocolate chips would make much difference to the final texture – perhaps check the expiry date on your baking powder and soda? The freshness of those two ingredients might have something to do with it, as well as how much you mix the batter – you want to fold it just enough to combine, otherwise it will bake up to be heavy. I hope that helps! Thanks for your note 🙂