By Marian Blazes
South American Food Expert
Many banana bread recipes called for mashed ripe bananas, which gives the bread a moist, slightly dense texture.
In this recipe, the banana is pureed in the blender with the other wet
ingredients, and the resulting banana bread has a more uniform
cake-like texture. The bread/cake is topped with sugar and chopped nuts
for an extra bit of sweetness and crunch - a quicker alternative to the
caramelized bananas that are popular on Brazilian-style banana cake.
This
recipe makes enough batter for a large ring pan, bundt pan, or angel
food cake pan, or two regular bread pans, or about 25 large muffins.
Serve this bread for breakfast, or enjoy a slice with a cup of coffee or tea in the afternoon.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 4-5 very ripe bananas
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- For topping:
- 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
- 1/4 cup coarse sanding sugar
Preparation
Grease and lightly flour the ring pan (or bread pan). If making
muffins, line the wells of the muffin pan with paper liners. Rreheat
the oven to 350 degrees (F).
Place the sugar, the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk well to combine.
Place
the bananas, the vegetable oil, the vanilla, the water, and the
buttermilk in a blender and process until mixture is well blended and
smooth.
Pour the blender mixture into the dry
ingredients and stir until well mixed. Transfer the batter to the
prepared pan. Sprinkle the chopped nuts and the sugar evenly over the
top of the cake.
Place the cake in the oven and bake until it has
risen well, is browned on top, and springs back lightly to the touch,
about 45-50 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the banana
bread should come out clean.
source: about.com
