When I woke up this morning, I just had a big urge to have Banana Bread and instead of going to my local Starbucks (they have a killer Banana and Coffee Cake) I brought Starbucks home. This goes really well for breakfast or as a dessert after lunch or with afternoon tea. So, pretty much whenever you feel like it. I had no eggs at home so I just used buttermilk instead because it works as a good substitute. Here's the recipe I used:
Ingredients
3 ripe Bananas, mashed or pureed
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Butter, melted
3/4 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Buttermilk
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
A pinch of Salt
A pinch of Cinnamon - Optional
Chocolate Chips - Use at your discretion but don't overdo it
Nutella - Use at your discretion
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit
2. In a large bowl, combine mashed Bananas and Melted Butter. This goes without saying but make sure to melt the butter first before measuring.
3. Add in Buttermilk and Vanilla Extract and mix. Next, add in Sugar, Baking Soda, Cinnamon and Salt to mix.
4. Add in Chocolate-Chips. I added in very few because I didn't want the chocolate and Nutella to overpower the banana. Also, when mixing the chocolate chips, its better to fold the batter in from the outside edges of the batter so as to not crush the chocolate chips.
5. Add the All-Purpose Flour in last and mix.
6. Pour the batter into a well greased bread loaf pan.
7. Bake for 45-mins to an hour. I put my timer on for 45 mins, did the toothpick check. It was clean so I took it out.
8. I let it stand to cool before taking it out. It's a daunting task to make sure it comes out clean.
9. Optional - Add a small layer of Nutella on top for that x-factor.
Overall, this was so easy and so much fun to make! Baking is usually very exact and technical but this recipe doesn't require a Le Cordon Bleu qualification. It's great for beginners. If you're not a chocolate lover (how could you not be?) you can substitute the chocolate chips with a half-cup of sliced walnuts and skip the Nutella for a Banana Nut Bread. My family loved it, hope you enjoy this recipe as well!
Cheers!
