These loaves of banana bread are moist and delicious, great for using up your over ripe bananas! I added chocolate chips and sweetened dried cranberries, but you can add other inclusions like any dried fruit, nuts (pecans are especially good in this bread) etc. Remember, the more inclusions you add the more batter you will have and if you opt to leave out the additions, you will have less batter, so plan accordingly.
Hint, if you don’t have quite enough bananas, substitute part applesauce.
This recipe was formulated especially for the smaller loaves – pan size 3×6″ You can find the small pans sold as foil pans in the store. You could set several on a cookie sheet for baking if you can’t find the pans I have. The foil pans are especially nice to give as gifts. See the directions below for using larger pans.
775gMashed Banana - Use very ripe bananas3 cups or about 7 medium large ripe bananas
215gWhite sugar1 cup
169gMelted butter1 and 1/2 sticks of butter
2Large eggslightly beaten or beaten after added to the bowl
2tspVanilla extract
Additions
170gSemi Sweet Chocolate chips1 cup
120gSweetened dried cranberries1 cup
What to do:
1
Start by making your butter crumbs. Place the flour, sugar and butter (cut into chunks) into a medium mixing bowl. Using your hands, rub the ingredients together until the crumbs look about like crumbs in the photo. Set aside while you make the batter for the banana bread.
2
Next mix together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl following the order in the ingredient list. Incorporate well. Set bowl aside while you mix the wet ingredients together in another bowl.
3
For the wet bowl, use a larger mixing bowl and add the ingredients in the order of on the ingredient list, beating with a whisk after each addition. Then whisk briskly until the ingredients are well mixed. Set bowl aside.
4
Take your dry ingredient bowl and pour in your chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Coating the additions with flour will help them not sink to the bottom of the batter.
5
6
Now pour the ingredients of the dry bowl into the wet bowl and mix well with a large mixing spoon. Taking care to mix just long enough to incorporate the ingredients. Do not over mix or your bread can come out tough.
7
Divide the batter into greased or oiled smaller bread pans or large bread pans. I like to use my smaller bread pans. The batter in this recipe will fill five small pans.
8
Each smaller bread pan measures 3x6" and I am lucky enough to have two four cavity pans. Wilton four cavity loaf pan.
You can also use two larger bread pans measuring 8.5 x 4.5" or even larger 9 x 5" pans but the larger pans will make shorter loaves. This would also be good baked in a cake pan with the bread crumbs on top!
9
I like to fill my pans about 7/8 full so the bread will have a nice dome on it. Shorter loaves taste good too if you find you don't have enough batter.
10
Now take a handful of butter crumbs and spread them over the top of each loaf, keep going until you've used all the crumbs, dividing the crumbs evenly between the pans.
11
Then using a butter knife, press the crumbs in here and there on each loaf, especially around the sides. Don't press in all the crumbs, just some around the top. This will help the crumbs stick to the loaf during baking and it presses some of the crumbs into the loaf which is really great tasting!
See how to press in the crumbs in a video on You tube.
Baking
13
I bake using my convection oven for quick breads. I baked these loaves (both pans at the same time) on the middle shelf of the oven at 335F convection. Pre-heat your oven while mixing the batter. It took 40 minutes for the loaves to finish baking.
14
Bake at 350F for a standard oven. It will take a bit longer to bake without convection but should take anywhere from 45-55 minutes. For larger loaves it can take an hour plus or minus. Loaves are done when a toothpick comes out clean or your thermometer is over 180F and a clean toothpick.
15
Allow the loaves to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes and then remove to a cooling grate.
16
Allow loaves to cool thoroughly and then slice and enjoy! If you want to enjoy them while warm that's fine but they are harder to slice. However, melting butter on a warm slice is so good!
17
These loave freeze well. Allow them to cool completely. Then wrap in plastic wrap and then foil before freezing.
775gMashed Banana - Use very ripe bananas3 cups or about 7 medium large ripe bananas
215gWhite sugar1 cup
169gMelted butter1 and 1/2 sticks of butter
2Large eggslightly beaten or beaten after added to the bowl
2tspVanilla extract
Additions
170gSemi Sweet Chocolate chips1 cup
120gSweetened dried cranberries1 cup
Directions
What to do:
1
Start by making your butter crumbs. Place the flour, sugar and butter (cut into chunks) into a medium mixing bowl. Using your hands, rub the ingredients together until the crumbs look about like crumbs in the photo. Set aside while you make the batter for the banana bread.
2
Next mix together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl following the order in the ingredient list. Incorporate well. Set bowl aside while you mix the wet ingredients together in another bowl.
3
For the wet bowl, use a larger mixing bowl and add the ingredients in the order of on the ingredient list, beating with a whisk after each addition. Then whisk briskly until the ingredients are well mixed. Set bowl aside.
4
Take your dry ingredient bowl and pour in your chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Coating the additions with flour will help them not sink to the bottom of the batter.
5
6
Now pour the ingredients of the dry bowl into the wet bowl and mix well with a large mixing spoon. Taking care to mix just long enough to incorporate the ingredients. Do not over mix or your bread can come out tough.
7
Divide the batter into greased or oiled smaller bread pans or large bread pans. I like to use my smaller bread pans. The batter in this recipe will fill five small pans.
8
Each smaller bread pan measures 3x6" and I am lucky enough to have two four cavity pans. Wilton four cavity loaf pan.
You can also use two larger bread pans measuring 8.5 x 4.5" or even larger 9 x 5" pans but the larger pans will make shorter loaves. This would also be good baked in a cake pan with the bread crumbs on top!
9
I like to fill my pans about 7/8 full so the bread will have a nice dome on it. Shorter loaves taste good too if you find you don't have enough batter.
10
Now take a handful of butter crumbs and spread them over the top of each loaf, keep going until you've used all the crumbs, dividing the crumbs evenly between the pans.
11
Then using a butter knife, press the crumbs in here and there on each loaf, especially around the sides. Don't press in all the crumbs, just some around the top. This will help the crumbs stick to the loaf during baking and it presses some of the crumbs into the loaf which is really great tasting!
See how to press in the crumbs in a video on You tube.
Baking
13
I bake using my convection oven for quick breads. I baked these loaves (both pans at the same time) on the middle shelf of the oven at 335F convection. Pre-heat your oven while mixing the batter. It took 40 minutes for the loaves to finish baking.
14
Bake at 350F for a standard oven. It will take a bit longer to bake without convection but should take anywhere from 45-55 minutes. For larger loaves it can take an hour plus or minus. Loaves are done when a toothpick comes out clean or your thermometer is over 180F and a clean toothpick.
15
Allow the loaves to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes and then remove to a cooling grate.
16
Allow loaves to cool thoroughly and then slice and enjoy! If you want to enjoy them while warm that's fine but they are harder to slice. However, melting butter on a warm slice is so good!
17
These loave freeze well. Allow them to cool completely. Then wrap in plastic wrap and then foil before freezing.
Notes
Chocolate Cranberry Banana Bread with Butter Crumbs (non sourdough)
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