Originally published on January 17, 2010
Who doesn’t love banana bread? It’s just one of those foods that’s sweet, filling, and very very comforting. I don’t know where I got this recipe originally but I recently dug it out from the waaaay back of my recipe box and am I ever glad that I found it! So simple to prepare and you can add anything in it that you’d like. I actually added the lemon zest myself because I’ll take any chance I can to throw a little lemon into something. And the one on the left hand side in the picture is actually made with white chocolate chips instead of pecans and I can’t even tell you how good that is! (But I would suggest leaving the lemon zest out of that recipe!) The chocolate melts and oozes out all over the top, giving it a crisp and sugary crust. Now what’s wrong with that?! And so cheap too!
Ingredients:
5 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups mashed, very ripe bananas (about 2)
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup chopped pecans
Zest of one lemon
Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bottom only of loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2.) Beat butter in large bowl with an electric mixer set at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat well. Add egg, egg whites, and vanilla. Beat until well blended. Add mashed banana and beat on high for 30 seconds.
3.) Combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and lemon zest in medium bowl. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with cream, ending with flour mixture. Add pecans to batter; mix well.
4.) Pour batter evenly into prepared loaf pan. Bake until browned and toothpick inserted near centre comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
5.) Cool bread in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan; cool completely on wire rack.
6.) Serve and enjoy!