4.10.12

"the best banana bread I've ever made"

I love sugar and baking but my husband generally doesn't agree. That's the problem with baking. Once I bake something scrumptious, no one eats it but me. So I invite friends over and share with neighbours, sure, but I also eat more than my share!

I tried this banana bread recipe not expecting Brad to love it. There was, after all, only one banana in the whole banana bread recipe. And he loves bananas. More bananas! he usually says when I make banana bread. And that's when I use 2-banana recipes. But I had a drop of bourbon left to add and one singular banana and was jonsing to bake, so off I went in search of a 1-banana banana bread recipe. And I found this. I altered it significantly, and Brad has laid the claim of "the best banana bread ever" on it, so I think this recipe is worth jotting down:


  1. Brown 1/2 C butter in a pan (basically cook on med-high until melted and smells slightly nutty and has brown foam on top. This step is CRUCIAL. It adds a wonderful nutty, warm flavour to the bread and enhanced the sweetness (which is key since there is only one banana). 
  2. In a heat-proof bowl, mix 1 mashed banana, 1 shot of bourbon, 1 cup sugar
  3. In a separate measuring cup, mix 1 egg and enough milk to fill to 1 C. All ege/milk mix to banana bowl.
  4. Pour in browned butter (it will be hot, be careful and use a heat pad under the heat-proof bowl), mix furiously!
  5. Add 1.5 C flour of your choice to the wet mixture, mix out any lumps
  6. Pour into loaf pan, bake at 350 for 20-50 minutes. I know, this sounds ridiculously general, but the recipe originally asked me to bake for 55 minutes and I didn't set a timer, but it was way shorter than that. So just keep your eyes on it. Take out when it feels firm and passes the tooth pick test
It is the densest, most uniquely flavoured banana bread we've ever tasted. Rich, thick, dense. That's what I like in a cake (no fluff, thank you). Enjoy within 2-3 days!

4 comments:

  1. Extremely sad right now because I don't have an oven here! But I'll invite myself over to Paul's and bake this up - it sounds great! What's a suitable substitute for bourbon?

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    Replies
    1. whisky or rye - but I'd even try rum which is great with banana! (all hard to find in a Muslim country though!)

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  2. Yum! Need to make!! Sounds super easy and I love that it is only 1 banana. Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Matt, I have used maple syrup before.... not sure if you could get your hands on that?!

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