Vanilla Powder Banana Bread
Course: BreakfastCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy10
Slices15
minutes55
minutes275
kcalTurn those spotty bananas on your counter into a soft, fragrant homemade loaf. This vanilla powder banana bread combines ripe bananas, butter and brown sugar with the warm aroma of ground vanilla beans. A little yogurt keeps the crumb tender, while optional walnuts add crunch. Enjoy a slice with breakfast, afternoon tea or your favourite coffee. You only need mixing bowls, a whisk and a spatula.
Ingredients
- For the Banana Bread
240 g all-purpose flour, approximately 2 cups, spooned and levelled
1 tsp premium Madagascar vanilla powder, made from unsweetened ground vanilla beans
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
300 g mashed ripe bananas, approximately 1⅓ cups
150 g light brown sugar, approximately ¾ cup, packed
115 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 large eggs, at room temperature
60 g plain unsweetened yogurt, approximately ¼ cup
- Optional Additions
50 g chopped walnuts or 60 g dark chocolate chips
¼ tsp cinnamon powder
How to Cook
- Prepare the oven and tin. Preheat the oven to 175°C conventional / 160°C fan, approximately 350°F conventional. Grease a 23 × 13 cm (9 × 5 inch) metal loaf tin and line it with baking paper, leaving an overhang for lifting.
- Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, vanilla powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Add the cinnamon here if using.
- Mash the bananas. Mash the peeled bananas with a fork, then measure out 300 g. A few small lumps are fine.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter and brown sugar together. Add the eggs, yogurt and mashed bananas, mixing until evenly combined.
- Make the batter. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Fold gently with a spatula just until no dry flour remains. Fold in the walnuts or chocolate chips, if using. Avoid beating the batter.
- Fill the tin. Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tin and gently level the surface.
- Bake. Place on the middle oven rack and bake for 55–65 minutes, checking from 50 minutes. The loaf is ready when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, without wet batter. If the top browns before the centre cooks, cover it loosely with foil and continue baking.
- Cool and slice. Leave the bread in its tin for 15 minutes. Lift it onto a wire rack and cool for at least another 30 minutes before slicing. Let it cool completely for the neatest slices.
Additional Tips
- Choose well-ripened bananas. Bananas with plenty of brown spots mash easily and bring a fuller banana flavour to the loaf.
- Weigh the flour and bananas. Banana sizes and cup measurements vary; using the stated weights helps keep the batter consistent.
- Use pure vanilla powder. The quantity here is intended for unsweetened ground vanilla beans. Whisking it into the flour distributes it throughout the loaf.
- Keep mixing gentle. Once the flour goes in, fold only until combined to help the bread stay tender.
- Allow time to cool. Cutting the loaf too soon can compress the soft centre and make the slices look gummy.
- Store after cooling. Wrap the cooled loaf and keep it in an airtight container. Freeze individually wrapped slices if you want to save some for later.
