Maple & Walnut Banana Bread
Day 2 of Banana Week comes in the form of one of my favourite baked goods – banana bread! It’s a well known fact I love trying out different flavours in my banana bread, in the last month alone I’ve posted two banana breads for you to try out: Banana Orange Bread & Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread. & guess what? This banana bread is even better than those ones. & that means a lot, because I have a passionate love for all things cinnamon.
After making the Caramelized Banana Coffee Cake with a Cream Filling (I only just now realized how long the title is. What a mouthful.) for Day 1 of Banana Week, I knew that some form of banana bread had to come next. Who doesn’t love a good banana bread? Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody who doesn’t like banana bread. It’s just one of those things that everybody loves. It’s kind of homey & traditional. Probably because at some stage or other, everybody always ends up with browning bananas & the easiest solution is always banana bread. I don’t know about you guys, but I kind of love that fruit goes off, if only so that I can make banana bread!
Like the other banana breads I’ve posted about, this is a twist on the dull generic banana bread recipe. I love a plain banana bread as much as the next girl, but there’s nothing wrong with adding a little spice, right? & this banana bread is full of my spice of choice, maple syrup! (Yes, I know maple syrup isn’t a spice..) Alongside the maple syrup, there’s some roughly chopped walnuts, adding some tradition to the loaf. Also, the recipe isn’t scabby with the banana usage, which is always a huge plus (especially if you have 21 bananas that need to be used up urgently). Banana bread with a strong banana-maple-syrup flavour & a walnuty crunch? Yes please.
Actually, I think I’d feel confident in saying that this is the best banana bread I’ve ever had. & I’ve had some good banana breads in my time. But this one, it just kind of stands out. Also, doesn’t it just sound like it tastes amazing? Maple syrup in a banana bread? Have I died & gone to heaven? & because there’s not that much maple syrup in the recipe, it’s not even horrifyingly sweet, even better! Despite the banana-maple-syrup flavour & the crunchy walnuts, my favourite part was the texture. The outside comes out lovely & crispy, but the inside is so amazingly light & springy because of the yogurt & bananas. What more could you want?
Makes 1 loaf (Adapted from thelittleloaf)
Ingredients
- 3 bananas
- 1 tablespoon yogurt
- 2 medium eggs
- 165ml maple syrup
- 40ml olive oil
- 2 tablespoon milk
- 200g flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 60g walnuts, roughly broken
Method
- Preheat the oven to 170°C. Oil a 21cm long loaf tin & line the bottom with baking parchment.
- In a medium bowl, mash the bananas. Add the yogurt & mash again to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, maple syrup and olive oil until thoroughly combined. Add the banana mixture and whisk again to incorporate.
- Sift the flour and baking powder into the wet mixture and fold carefully to combine. Add the walnuts & fold again until just combined.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin. Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until the loaf is golden & risen on top & a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven & leave to cool in the tin for five minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve in thick slices.