I’ve been thinking about making banana bread for some time now, but haven’t been patient enough to wait for bananas to become ripe. Hehe. Sounds silly, I know! I even tried making a banana bread using roasted banana but it was definitely not the same. The bananas simply NEED to be very ripe to get the right sweetness and flavor. I know there are some tricks for speeding up the process but I haven’t tried them myself.
I’m not sure what else to say about this recipe other than it’s seriously dangerous and you will want to eat the whole thing by yourself. Especially slathered in that creamy brown butter chocolate spread. Yuum. It’s perfect for the beautiful autumn weather we’re having – accompanied by a cup of coffee or chai tea.
If you’re looking for other banana recipes, you can find my Banana bundt cake with butterscotch sauce HERE and my Banana upside down cake HERE. I very much encourage you to try those too as they are two of my favorite recipes ever.
BANANA BREAD WITH BROWN BUTTER CHOCOLATE SPREAD
Makes 1 loaf cake
This cake can be made 1-2 days ahead (actually it gets better after a day or two), wrapped in plastic wrap or stored in a airtight container.
Recipe from my book “Sweet food & photography” / My Sweet Kitchen
INGREDIENTS
BANANA BREAD
- 125 g unsalted butter, softened
- 210 g (1 scant cup) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 210 g (1 1/2 cup) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. flaky salt
- 1 cup (about 2-3) very ripe mashed bananas
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) sour cream or thick yogurt
- 1 banana, for topping
BROWN BUTTER CHOCOLATE
- 225 g (1 cup/2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 75 g semi sweet chocolate (55%), chopped
- pinch of salt
- 1-2 tbsp. powdered sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
BANANA BREAD
- Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease and flour/breadcrumb a 5 cup (1,2 liter) loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the egg and beat until smooth.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the butter and egg mixture. Combine the mashed banana and sour cream and add to the batter, then stir until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Split a banana in half lengthwise and place on top of the batter, dot the bananas with a little extra butter if desired.
- Bake on the lower rack for about 60-67 minutes (but start checking a little earlier) or until a cake tester comes out clean. Keep an eye on the cake so it doesn’t brown too much on top. If it does, cover the pan loosely with a piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper (make sure to not seal it, the cake needs room to breathe and rise!). Let the cake cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes, then invert it onto a wire rack to cool.
BROWN BUTTER CHOCOLATE
- Place the butter in a light colored saucepan (so you can see the butter change color) over medium heat and leave until it melts and start bubbling.
- Continue cooking, stirring frequently until the milk solids turn brown and the butter smells nutty, about 5-10 minuter longer. Take care not to burn the butter (it will continue to brown even after you remove it from the heat, so take it off in time). Pour the butter into a bowl and let cool for a few minutes, then add the chopped chocolate and salt and stir until smooth.
- Either leave at room temperature or place the bowl covered in the fridge until the spread thickens to a soft butter consistency. Beat the mixture until fluffy, and add in powdered sugar if desired.
I’ m in love with these beautiful picture ? You’ re always a great inspiration for me…and I absolutely want to try this recipe ?
Thank you so much Antonella! <3 You are so sweet! And I hope you like the recipe should you decide to try it 🙂 xx
This is so beautiful Linda. Every single shot ! The cake looks so moist and I can almost smell the banana from the screen haha by the way, I wonder how does the brown butte chocolate taste. Definitely have to give it a try !
Have a nice sunday evening Linda. I hope to read more from you.
Steve
Thanks so much Steve! Brown butter is sooo good, kind of nutty. Thank you for your kind words!!
As usual, your photographs are beautiful!! I’ll have to try your banana bread recipe. I am forever trying banana bread recipes, and I am forever failing at making a good banana bread. I can bake lots of different things, but a decent banana bread seems to elude me. I think it’s because I’m always comparing mine to my grandmother’s, which was the best! I even tried following HER recipe, and it still didn’t come out the same! Maybe I will have more luck with your recipe. 🙂 And, I love the idea of putting the chocolate spread with the banana! yummmm
Thank you so much CJ! I know exactly what you mean, I actually tried the banana cake I used to eat as a child as I remember it as the best.. It wasn’t! Hope fully you’ll like this one if you decide to try 🙂 Of course it’s even better the day after! 🙂
That sounds like a wonderful recipe for it, I like the recipe I use the most for banana bread, but mine doesn’t have sour cream and I like the sound of that. I’ve also never seen it with the split banana on top, it’s so pretty!
I think my only “trick” that I do with bananas is once they start to get too spotty is to put them in the freezer. Then I don’t have to wait for a bunch to all be ready at once, I just have to wait until there’s enough from several bunches haha!
That’s so clever! So do you just let them thaw, and then use them in banana bread? Thanks for the tip!
Yes I let them thaw, but make sure to put them on a plate, sometimes they make a mess while thawing lol!
Haha, I bet!! I’ll do that next time, usually I have bananas that are too green and suddenly they are too brown. Hehe
This is a really delicious banana bread! I particularly loved the bananas on top.They really add a sense of glamour to the bread.
Thank you so much Donna! They get a really nice texture from the baking too, so good!
I always look out for mature bananas on sale at my local rural grocery shop, for the purpose of making banana bread. So when I saw your post on Instagram last weekend, I thought I would give it a try. So good that I’m making it again, Baking in the oven as I write this comment… The quantity is enough to bake 3 in small loaf tins – sharing with two neighbours. Still need to make the chocolate nut cream. Your talent is blessing others, be inspired to continue. Gloria
Thank you for your lovely comment, Gloria! How kind of you to bake some for your neighbours as well. Again, thank you so much for your comment – it made my day! x
Just baked this today – added a bunch of walnuts – turned out delicious (as always with your recipies)!
What a great idea to add walnuts! And thank you so much for your kind words, I’m so happy it was a success 🙂
I just wanted to tell you that this is the best banana bread I’ve tried so far and I don’t intend to search for another one. This one is going in my recipe notebook, to be baked again and again 🙂
And, as always, your photos are beautiful.
Yaay, that makes me super happy to hear Ira! Thank you so much 🙂
Hi!
Nice shots, as usual ??♥️
I wander why is it so brown inside? Looks like chocolate crisps or nuts, or cardamon…. I tried the recipe and mine is quite light inside (like ordinary sponge cake)…
Hi Nadya! Thank you! <3 It is the banana that sometimes gives these small brown dots inside the cake 🙂 I'm not sure why some do and some don't, all I can think is that it depends on how ripe the bananas are!
Linda, a lot of thanks for this recipe! Often times you just don’t know how this or that recipe you find on web will turn out. Today I decided to make my first ever banana bread. Didn’t have to think for awhile which recipe to use as have known about your work for few years now. I must say that it turned out so good, doesn’t even go in comparison with any other banana bread I’ve taste before! Used frozen bananas, worked just great! Thank you again!
Oh, that makes me so happy to hear, Mariia! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment 🙂 It made me so happy, and so glad you enjoyed the recipe!