When I first opened my shop on Fishers Island, I spent many hours in the kitchen trying to come up with really unique recipes, but what I found people were most drawn to were the simple standards; lasagna, great grinders (a sub like sandwich), lobster rolls, the simple and delicious pies and cookies that my ex-husband’s mother would bake, and basics like lemon and banana bread. Instead of reinventing the wheel, I focused on making a better version of everything I served.
This banana bread recipe has changed over time by adding and removing ingredients. Being the Mexican-Norwegian chick that I am, I like strong flavors that enhance but don’t overwhelm, so that is what I’ve tried to do with this bread.
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1⅓ cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 large bananas)
- ¾ cup raisins
- ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
- 3 tablespoons rum, plus 3 tablespoons to soak the raisins
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon double-acting baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ nutmeg
- ¼ allspice
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Soak the raisins in just enough rum to cover them for 20 minutes or while you are mixing the rest of the ingredients.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt together into a large bowl.
- In the bowl of a food processor, cream the butter with the sugars until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the rum, vanilla, eggs, banana, and sour cream and process until smooth.
- Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix the batter with a wooden spoon until it is just combined.
- Drain the raisins and stir in the walnuts and raisins into the batter.
- Divide the batter among 5 well-buttered and floured 5¾L by 3¼W by 2H loaf pans and bake the breads in the middle of the oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
- Remove the breads from the pans and let them cool on a rack.
I like the bread plain, as it is with a bit of butter, but if you prefer something a little sweeter…
…you can decorate it with this rum and vanilla icing.
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1½ tablespoon rum
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- Place the powdered sugar in a small bowl.
- Add the rum and vanilla and whisk to a smooth consistency (add a few drops of water or milk if it appears to thick).
- Drizzle glaze over banana bread and allow to dry.
Enjoy!
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What a fantastic take on that perennial favourite banana bread – I am making a loaf tonight!
Great! I hope you enjoyed it!
Can’t wait to try this recipe… looks so yummy. Is your Lemon loaf recipe available anywhere? I also LOVE anything lemony….
Hi Diane – You may want to try the Lemon Torta Capri.
https://www.epicureaneva.com/lemon-torta-capri/
It is a fairly involved recipe but it is delicious. I don’t have a lemon loaf, but I do have a wonderful pound cake recipe that I serve with lemon curd.
I’ll occasionally add the juice of one lemon and the zest of two lemons to make a lemon pound cake https://www.epicureaneva.com/pound-cake/. I hope you enjoy the recipes! Eva
just wondering the size of loaf pans you are using??? is is 5 3/4 long by 31/4 deep?? I am a bit confused and want to make this loaf ASAP… thank you hope to hear from you soon
Hi Diane – Here are the dimensions of the pans I used – 5 3/4L x 3 1/4W x 2 D. Hope that helps! Eva
thank you Eva for the loaf pan measurements and the Lemon recipes… yum ! yum ! I’ll let you know how it turns out