Banana bread is a great way to use up overly-ripe bananas, which you might otherwise throw away. Adding in a little bit of apple sauce and sour cream will also help to ensure that this loaf of breakfast bread isn’t too dry. And, as an added bonus, a cinnamon sugar swirl and a powdered sugar glaze, take this quick bread to the next level, by adding tons of flavor and sweetness.
Go out to your kitchen right now. Yes, you there, I’m speaking to you. Come on, just do it, no questions asked. So, here’s the thing, I’m guessing that there is a high probability that you have a banana or two sitting on your counter. Am I right? Or, is this one of the weeks you decided a trip to the market to buy fresh fruit just wasn’t in the cards? If it’s the latter, I’m sorry, perhaps after seeing this recipe, you’ll remember to buy a bunch of bananas on your next trip. If I’m right, and you do actually happen to have a banana or two sitting on your counter, read on, I’m going to tell you how to use one of those bananas.
When it comes to fruit, bananas are seriously cheap. Really, I triple dog dare you to find another fruit that is cheaper. I bet you won’t. So, when you buy a bunch of bananas and they become so freaking ripe that you simply cannot bear to eat them due to their mushy texture, you almost don’t even have to feel too bad about tossing them in the garbage because they cost you so little. However, if you’re like me, you wouldn’t even think about throwing those suckers away and wasting your hard-earned money. Instead, you’ll smoosh those suckers up and use them to make a big ol’ loaf of yumilicious banana bread.
And, if you’re like me, you might even decide to look in your fridge and pantry to see what else you can throw into that loaf of bread. If you have chopped nuts and don’t live with someone who is highly allergic to throw them, toss a handful of them in. If you have whole wheat flour, use some of it along with your all-purpose flour to create a nutty flavor. If you’re craving chocolate, sprinkle in a few chocolate chips. This is one loaf of banana bread that you can truly make your own. Whatever you do though, don’t leave out the cinnamon sugar swirl or the glaze. They’re too delicious to leave out.
Ingredients:
Bread:
- 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 3/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 4 Teaspoons Unsalted Butter, Softened (Additional for Greasing Bread Loaf Pan)
- 1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar, Packed
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla
- 1 Ripe Banana, Mashed
- 1/2 Cup Apple Sauce
- 1/2 Cup Sour Cream
Cinnamon Sugar Swirl:
- 1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
Glaze:
- 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 3 to 4 Tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream
Directions:
Bread:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Liberally grease a bread loaf pan with butter; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together on medium speed for 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix for 30 seconds after the addition of each egg.
- Add the vanilla, mashed banana, apple sauce, and sour cream; mix until well combined.
- Using a spatula, fold the flour mixture into the bread batter until just combined.
Cinnamon Sugar Swirl:
- In a small bowl whisk together the sugar and cinnamon.
- Pour half of the bread batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle with half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Use a knife to swirl the cinnamon-sugar mixture into the batter.
- Top with the remaining bread batter and then sprinkle with the remaining half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Use a knife to swirl the cinnamon-sugar mixture into the batter.
- Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the middle of the bread loaf comes out clean.
- Allow the bread to cool for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan.
Glaze:
- Once the loaf of bread has cooled completely, whisk the powdered sugar and cream together in a small bowl.
- Drizzle, spoon, or spread the glaze onto the cooled loaf of bread.
Suggestions:
- I suggest using a light-colored metal loaf pan for this recipe. It will help prevent over-baking. If you are using a darker-colored metal loaf pan, you may want to decrease your oven temperature to 325 degrees.
- Do not forget to generously grease your loaf pan before adding the bread batter.
- I used both all-purpose and whole wheat flour in this recipe in order to get rid of some whole wheat flour. If you choose, you can use all-purpose flour only.
- The amount of heavy whipping cream you use to make the glaze will depend on how thick or thin you like your glaze. If you don’t have heavy whipping cream, you can use milk instead.
Improvements:
- Add chopped pecans or walnuts to the bread batter.
- Sprinkle some additional cinnamon sugar on top of the glaze.
- Add miniature chocolate chips to the flour mixture before adding it to the bread batter.
Ingredients:
- 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 3/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 4 Teaspoons Unsalted Butter, Softened (Additional for Greasing Bread Loaf Pan)
- 1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar, Packed
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla
- 1 Ripe Banana, Mashed
- 1/2 Cup Apple Sauce
- 1/2 Cup Sour Cream
- 1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 3 to 4 Tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Liberally grease a bread loaf pan with butter; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together on medium speed for 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix for 30 seconds after the addition of each egg.
- Add the vanilla, mashed banana, apple sauce, and sour cream; mix until well combined.
- Using a spatula, fold the flour mixture into the bread batter until just combined.
- In a small bowl whisk together the sugar and cinnamon.
- Pour half of the bread batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle with half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Use a knife to swirl the cinnamon-sugar mixture into the batter.
- Top with the remaining bread batter and then sprinkle with the remaining half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Use a knife to swirl the cinnamon-sugar mixture into the batter.
- Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the middle of the bread loaf comes out clean.
- Allow the bread to cool for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan.
- Once the loaf of bread has cooled completely, whisk the powdered sugar and cream together in a small bowl.
- Drizzle, spoon, or spread the glaze onto the cooled loaf of bread.
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