We often have a few overripe bananas lying around the kitchen because only one person here eats them regularly. Consequently, some tend to get left behind and become very ripe. Too ripe to snack. At that stage, they’re really only good for baking – which, of course, suits me just fine. Delicious treats like this Pecan & Browned Butter Banana Bread find their way into the oven quite regularly. After all, you don’t want to waste food. You can do great things even with bananas that have turned almost black…
When we buy bananas, it’s rarely just one or two. That would probably make more sense, but somehow a whole bunch always ends up in the shopping cart… which is too much for a single »banana eater«. As a result, a few of them almost always get a bit dark and overripe. Those aren’t great for snacking anymore, but they’re perfect for baking. There’s probably a little voice in the back of my mind (one that loves banana bread) tempting me to buy more bananas than we actually need…
Well, this means we bake with bananas rather frequently. But since I rarely make the same recipe twice, I’m always coming up with something new for banana breads and the like. I often document and photograph these baked goods and write down the recipes. Theoretically, I could publish a new banana bread recipe every month, but that would quickly lead to total »banana bread overkill«, I guess. That’s why I currently have a backlog of banana bread recipes that I’m releasing gradually, with longer intervals between them.
To be honest, this banana bread isn’t exactly fresh anymore. I think I baked it sometime early in the year, so the recipe has been sitting around for a good six months. But that actually happens quite often with the recipes here. Before they get published on the blog, they might easily sit around for a year or two if they don’t quite fit into the current content schedule.
When certain fruits or berries are in season, I typically take advantage of sales in supermarkets and buy in bulk. This typically means I end up developing two or three recipes at once with the same fruit or berries. However, since I don’t want to overwhelm everyone with three cherry, strawberry, rhubarb, or »whatever-fruit« recipes all at the same time, most of them go into the recipe archive to be published later. Take rhubarb recipes, for instance: I probably have enough in reserve for the next two or three years, simply because there’s only a short window each year when I can post about them. After all, the rhubarb season is very brief…
But I digress. Back to the banana bread. This particular banana bread is based on one of my classic recipes, though I’ve slightly tweaked the fat content. Instead of »regular« melted butter, I used browned butter. You’re probably all familiar with it. You let the butter simmer until small brown specks appear on the bottom of the saucepan. This changes the flavor, giving it a slightly nutty quality. It’s perfect for cakes and the like.
You can swap regular melted butter for browned butter in many recipes. You just have to be a little careful and potentially adjust the liquid quantities in the recipe. A lot of the water in the butter evaporates when you brown the butter, so you sometimes need to compensate for that. Anyone who has ever cooked butter until it starts to turn brown has likely noticed that the volume shrinks significantly. That’s the water evaporating during the cooking process.
Well, well, well… Since we’re on the subject of »browned butter«, one of our favorite banana bread recipes also calls for this type of »modified« butter. That’s why I can highly recommend our Banana Bread with Toblerone & Browned Butter. Of course, it also helps that it contains Toblerone chocolate as well. Something that is never a bad thing in baked goods…
However, our absolute favorite recipe with bananas is a Banana Bread with Caramelized Bananas. What makes this recipe so special is that the bananas are sautéed with a little sugar before being added to the batter. Anyone who has ever eaten fried bananas knows just how delicious that is.
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
1/2 cup (120g) butter
3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar*
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract*
3 overripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup (120ml) milk
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar*
2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour*
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3.2 oz. (90g) pecans*, roughly chopped
1 small banana, halved lengthwise for decoration (optional)
2-3 cardamom pods* plus 1/2 tsp. brown sugar (optional)
120g Butter
150g brauner Zucker*
2 Eier (L)
1 TL Vanille Extrakt*
3 überreife Bananen, zerdrückt
120ml Milch
1 TL Apfelessig*
260g Mehl (Type 405)*
1/2 TL Backpulver
1/4 TL Natron
1/4 TL Salz
90g Pekannüsse*, grob gehackt
1 kleinere Banane, längs halbiert für Dekoration (optional)
2-3 Kardamomkapseln* & 1/2 TL brauner Zucker (optional)
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Add the butter to a small saucepan and melt it over medium heat. Let the butter cook until brown spots are visible on the bottom of the saucepan and it starts to smell nutty. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it cool for at least 10 minutes.
2. Mash the bananas for the batter and set aside. Combine the milk and apple cider vinegar and let it stand and thicken for a few minutes. Roughly chop the pecans and set them aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Lightly grease a 23cm loaf tin* and line it with a piece of baking parchment. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, mix the brown sugar and eggs until very light and fluffy. Add the cooled butter and mix it in. Next, add the vanilla extract and the mashed bananas and mix until well combined. Combine the flour with baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then add it to the bowl along with the thickened milk and mix until just combined – I normally only use a rubber spatula for this step. Add the chopped pecans and fold them in.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin, place the halved banana on top (if desired) and bake the banana bread for about 60-70 minutes – or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the banana bread comes out clean. Take the banana bread out of the oven, let it cool down inside the baking tin for some time, then remove it and let it cool down completely on a wire rack.
Note: If you like, you can sprinkle the banana bread with cardamom sugar immediately after baking to add some more flavors. Simply crush the seeds from 2-3 cardamom pods with a little brown sugar in a mortar and pestle and sprinkle the still-hot banana bread with the mixture, then let it cool down.
1. Die Butter in einen kleinen Topf geben und dann bei mittlerer Hitzezufuhr schmelzen und dann so lange köcheln lassen, bis sich dunkle Flecken am Boden des Topfes bilden und die Butter anfängt, nussig zu riechen. Vom Herd ziehen und für mind. 10 Minuten abkühlen lassen.
2. Die Bananen für den Teig zerdrücken und zur Seite stellen. Die Milch mit dem Apfelessig vermischen und einige Minuten stehen und andicken lassen. Die Pekannüsse grob hacken und zur Seite stellen.
3. Den Ofen auf 180°C (350°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Eine 23cm Kastenform* leicht einfetten und mit einem Stück Backpapier auslegen. Zur Seite stellen.
4. Den braunen Zucker mit den Eiern in einer großen Schüssel hell und luftig aufschlagen. Die abgekühlte Butter dazugeben und gut unterrühren. Den Vanille Extrakt und die zerdrückten Bananen dazugeben und ebenfalls gut unterrühren. Das Mehl mit Backpulver, Natron und Salz vermischen, dann zusammen mit der angedickten Milch zur Schüssel dazugeben und alles nur kurz verrühren – ich arbeite hier nur noch mit einem Gummispatel. Die gehackten Pekannüsse dazugeben und unterheben.
5. Den Teig in die vorbereitete Kastenform füllen, nach Belieben noch die Bananenhälften auf dem Teig auflegen und das Bananenbrot dann für etwa 60-70 Minuten backen. Mit einem Holzspieß testen, ob noch Teig kleben bleibt, und das Bananenbrot erst herausholen, wenn dieser sauber herauskommt. Das Bananenbrot aus dem Ofen nehmen und einige Zeit in der Form abkühlen lassen, dann aus der Form herauslösen und auf einem Kuchengitter komplett auskühlen lassen.
Hinweis: Wer mag, kann das Bananenbrot direkt nach dem Backen noch mit etwas Kardamomzucker bestreuen. Dazu die Samen von 2-3 Kardamomkapseln mit etwas braunem Zucker in einem Mörser grob zerstoßen und das noch heiße Bananenbrot damit bestreuen und dann abkühlen lassen.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Pecan & Browned Butter Banana Bread
- Prep Time: 00:20
- Cook Time: 01:00
- Total Time: 02:00
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Method: -
- Cuisine: United States
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Browned butter makes pretty much every bake better. This Pecan & Browned Butter Banana Bread is the perfect example here. Great texture and awesome flavors!
Ingredients
1/2 cup (120g) butter
3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar*
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract*
3 overripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup (120ml) milk
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar*
2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour*
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3.2 oz. (90g) pecans*, roughly chopped
1 small banana, halved lengthwise for decoration (optional)
2-3 cardamom pods* plus 1/2 tsp. brown sugar (optional)
Instructions
1. Add the butter to a small saucepan and melt it over medium heat. Let the butter cook until brown spots are visible on the bottom of the saucepan and it starts to smell nutty. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it cool for at least 10 minutes.
2. Mash the bananas for the batter and set aside. Combine the milk and apple cider vinegar and let it stand and thicken for a few minutes. Roughly chop the pecans and set them aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Lightly grease a 23cm loaf tin* and line it with a piece of baking parchment. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, mix the brown sugar and eggs until very light and fluffy. Add the cooled butter and mix it in. Next, add the vanilla extract and the mashed bananas and mix until well combined. Combine the flour with baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then add it to the bowl along with the thickened milk and mix until just combined – I normally only use a rubber spatula for this step. Add the chopped pecans and fold them in.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin, place the halved banana on top (if desired) and bake the banana bread for about 60-70 minutes – or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the banana bread comes out clean. Take the banana bread out of the oven, let it cool down inside the baking tin for some time, then remove it and let it cool down completely on a wire rack.
Notes
If you like, you can sprinkle the banana bread with cardamom sugar immediately after baking to add some more flavors. Simply crush the seeds from 2-3 cardamom pods with a little brown sugar in a mortar and pestle and sprinkle the still-hot banana bread with the mixture, then let it cool down.
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