Bananas have a proper time and place. Maybe half of one before a workout, a bit of one in a smoothie, fried plantains, whatever. Bananas Foster? Pretty much always. But when I’m not expecting banana taste and I taste it? Like when I’d bring my packed lunch to school and my banana had, unbeknownst to me, been laying next to my sandwich all day? Gross. Terrible. Blargh. Now I have a baloney sandwich with banana-infused bread.
So. Imagine my dismay when I dragged myself out of bed one precious weekend morning, pulled myself up to the toaster, popped in some bread, spread delicious salted butter across two almost-burned pieces of toast, and tasted … bananas.
What did I see when I peered into the recesses of the fridge? A bunch of very dark brown, mushy, reeking bananas. Five of them, to be exact. Something had to be done.
I thought about exacting revenge on them by composting them immediately, but then I thought better: banana bread. It seemed to be a fitting punishment—they ruined my toast, so I’ll turn them into bread.
Intentional Banana Bread
Only very slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s Jacked-Up Banana Bread
I took a tip from Molly’s dive into the world of coconut and cream cheese sheathed banana bread and blended the bananas instead of smashing them. I liked it—no hidden chunks of bananas lurking here. I threw cut up pieces of peeled banana into the cup that came with my immersion blender and was ready to go in no time.
Enjoy this on a cloudy afternoon when Daylight Savings Time ends and you find you have an extra hour on your hands.
Ingredients:
5 medium very brown and fragrant (some might say reeking) bananas, pureed
1/3 c. melted salted butter
3/4 c. light brown sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 T. bourbon
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 t. baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 c. flour
Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a loaf pan.
Whisk the melted butter into the pureed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar, egg, vanilla, and bourbon and then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and whisk some more.
Add the flour, switch to a spatula or a wooden spoon, and stir until just combined.
Pour mixture into the prepped loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, or until a tester comes out clean.
Cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and slice to serve.