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.