It’s officially spring since this morning! Oh yeah, didn’t you know that the equinox falls on the 20th this year? I didn’t know that either! But that’s great news, since the beginning of spring equals the beginning of sugar season! Yippee! Several sugar shacks have already been open for a few weeks, but the big boom will take place in the next few weeks with the weather getting warmer and the maple trees starting to sink! What does it mean? It means I’m going to break your ears with maple recipes for the next month! Yes, for the next four weeks, I’m going to publish one recipe made with maple syrup per week! Maple is really one of my favorite flavors (along with cinnamon, but we’ve already talked about it many times 😉 ). I find it super versatile! As much as it can be used in sweet dishes (like those carrot cake style breakfast cookies), it’s also delicious in savoury dishes (like tofu sauce with peanut sauce, for example). So I’m going to try to reinforce in your mind the versatility of maple over the next month and we’re going to start it off with the best banana bread recipe I’ve ever eaten in my life.
I’m not a big fan of banana bread. I often find it dry and uninteresting and there are so many other ways to pass old bananas (I have several on the blog already) that it seems I didn’t really understand the aura that surrounds banana bread. I say “understood” because now I do. I just had to find my recipe, it seems 😉 And what a recipe! It’s soft, it’s just sweet enough, the crunchy nut filling brings just the right texture to make it feel good underneath and it cuts superbly to form nice slices. No, but that’s important too! And, on top of that, it’s (almost) made in one bowl (almost because you have to mix the nuts and sugar in a small separate bowl for the topping…but hey, that doesn’t count 😉 ).
So, shall we go? It’s very simple! First, in a large bowl, we mix the melted butter, egg and bananas. Ideally, you should use a whisk, it allows you to integrate all the ingredients together. It doesn’t matter if there are pieces of bananas left in your mashed potatoes, it will just make them taste better!
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Then we add the maple essence and milk and brew well. If you don’t have maple essence at home, don’t hesitate to make the recipe. It helps to accentuate the maple flavor a little bit, but you could replace it with vanilla essence or don’t put any and it wouldn’t be a big deal.
Finally, we mix in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda) and mix well and our banana bread is ready! It can be transferred to a well greased/buttered baking pan.
The filling that goes on top of the bread (sugar and nuts) is then prepared in a small separate bowl.
Then, sprinkle this mixture also on top of the banana bread and put it in the oven!
You will see, your house will smell divine! And you’ll be left with this wonderful golden banana bread to enjoy! Be careful during baking to make sure that a toothpick inserted in the center of your bread comes out clean because the center takes longer to bake than the sides, it’s normal. And you wouldn’t want to pick up your spoonful of food because it’s not cooked, would you? Although…
Ingredients :
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup of maple syrup
- 1 egg
- 3 very ripe bananas, pureed
- ½ teaspoon of maple essence (can be replaced by vanilla essence if you don’t have any or simply omit it)
- 3 tablespoons of milk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
Steps :
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray with baking spray or butter a 9X5 inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, mix melted butter, maple syrup, egg and mashed bananas. Add the maple essence and milk and stir well.
- Add flour, then baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir well to ensure that the baking powder and baking soda are well distributed. Transfer the mixture to the baking pan.
- In a small separate bowl, mix nuts and sugar. Sprinkle evenly over the cake mixture and place in the oven. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes, then remove from pan and transfer bread to a wire rack to cool completely.
