There is something about this time of year when the weather is getting cooler that all I want to do is bake with cinnamon. I know this is a spice that you either love or hate but it has that warm cozy feeling to it that I want to use cinnamon in everything!
Kevin and I were also discussing things that our grandparents used to do when baking, and we got on the topic of banana bread. Neither one of us ever remember opening up Grandma’s freezer to find twenty overripe bananas in there. It seems like this became a thing more recently, and I decided to see if there was a difference between using freezer bananas to ripe bananas that haven’t seen the inside of the freezer.
I like doing these kinds of tests with Kevin, I like to see how good his tastebuds are! When I used to manage a bakery here in Calgary we used to have to taste things and describe what we liked and didn’t like about each thing, so doing this with Kevin reminds me of those days.
We did this taste test a couple of weeks ago and I used this recipe posted below for all the tests I shouldn’t be surprised by what we found out but I was a little. The ripe bananas that hadn’t been frozen had the best taste hands down. The surprising thing though was that on the second day, the banana bread tasted way better. I think that after it cooled and everything settled and blended together the taste really came out of the banana bread.
Needless to say I am now not going to freeze my ripe bananas, I will just make banana bread with them. If I have to freeze that or give it away then so be it, but that will be better than a freezer full of ripe black bananas.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup plain yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature (I use Greek yogurt)
2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 large ripe bananas)
1 tsp vanilla extract
optional: 3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
DIRECTIONS
Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a large bowl.
Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat the butter and brown sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beat in the yogurt, mashed bananas, and vanilla extract on medium speed until combined.
With the mixer running on low speed, slowly beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. Do not overmix. Fold in the nuts, if using.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 60-65 minutes. Loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil after 30 minutes to help prevent the top and sides from getting too brown.
The bread is done when a toothpick is inserted in the middle and it comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.
Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1/3 cup plain yogurt or sour cream room temperature
- 2 cups mashed bananas about 4 large ripe bananas
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts optional
Instructions
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a large bowl.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat the butter and brown sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
- On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Beat in the yogurt, mashed bananas, and vanilla extract on medium speed until combined.
- With the mixer running on low speed, slowly beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. Do not overmix. Fold in the nuts, if using.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 60-65 minutes. Loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil after 30 minutes to help prevent the top and sides from getting too brown.
- The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.