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A classic comfort dessert. Overly ripe bananas not required.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: banana
Servings: 1 loaf

Equipment

  • loaf pan
  • mixing bowl
  • fork
  • rubber spatula
  • 8" square pan (if you need to artificially ripen bananas; could also be a cast iron skillet or rimmed baking sheet)
  • 2 ramekins

Ingredients

  • 1 lb unpeeled bananas (about 3 count) it helps if they're over-ripe, but it's not strictly necessary
  • 8 oz flour (about 1-½ cups)
  • 8 oz white or light brown sugar (about 1 cup)
  • 3 oz butter (about 6 tbsp)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • butter spray but you can just use regular butter

Instructions

Artificially ripen the bananas (optional -- 30 min)

  • If your bananas aren't yet brown, get a pan (e.g., an 8" square pan, rimmed baking sheet, or cast iron skillet)
    If they are brown, skip down to the Prep section.
  • Peel and cut the bananas into roughly 2" pieces into that pan
    1 lb unpeeled bananas (about 3 count)
  • Cover them with the sugar. Don't add more sugar when making the batter later -- this is the same sugar.
    8 oz white or light brown sugar
  • Put the pan in the cold oven
  • Turn the oven on to preheat to 350ºF
  • Roast the bananas for 20-25 minutes, including the time it takes the oven to preheat, until they're soft and the sugar is bubbling. Stir every 5-10 minutes while they're roasting.
  • Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes

Prep (10 minutes)

  • Preheat oven to 350°F, if you haven't already
  • Spray the loaf pan with butter (or rub butter on it)
    butter spray
  • Beat the egg well, in one of the ramekins
    1 large egg
  • Melt the butter into the other ramekin, in the microwave or whatever
    3 oz butter
  • Peel the bananas, if you haven't yet, and put them in the mixing bowl
    1 lb unpeeled bananas (about 3 count)

Make the batter (10 minutes)

  • Mash the bananas with the fork until they're smooth, having the consistency of pudding, or close to it.
  • Stir in the melted butter
    3 oz butter
  • Add in the baking soda and the pinch of salt and stir
    1 tsp baking soda, 1/8 tsp salt
  • Add in the sugar (if you didn't need to artificially ripen the bananas), vanilla extract, and the beaten egg, and stir
    8 oz white or light brown sugar, 1 large egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Stir in the flour; the batter is now complete
    8 oz flour
  • Pour the batter evenly into the loaf pan, scraping the sides of the mixing bowl with the rubber spatula to get it all

Heat and cool the loaf (1 hour)

  • Bake for 50-60 min at 350°F, or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean
  • Let the bread cool in the pan for 5 minutes
  • Remove it from the pan, and if you want to get slices instead of a big mess, let it cool for another 5-15 minutes
  • Slice it with a serrated bread knife, so it doesn't crumble as much

Notes

Adapted from Simply Recipes, and King Arthur Baking.