Banana Bread

This week we again baked, a little late as usual, with the 3 GMA’s.  This weeks bread was banana bread.  We were flat out of deserts around here and had been forced to eat Russell Stover candies for a few days, not the best option. So, when I saw the GMA’s fine examples, I knew my apprentice had to chime in with her take.

It is, of course, full of all kinds of other things besides bananas since Lucy has no self control whatsoever – I can’t figure out who she takes after but it can’t be pretty.  We changed our recipe a little for this bake.  Instead of 1 C of sugar split half and half between brown and white we only used 3/4 of a cup split.  We used 1/2 C each of almonds and walnuts instead of all walnuts.

Instead of 3 ripe bananas, we used 4 frozen ones - couldn’t wait any longer for the fresh ones to get brown.  We added some dried prunes to the dried apricots, raisins and cranberries in our usual snockerd mix.  We used 1 T of bourbon and 1 T brandy to do the snockering instead of our usual bourbon only.  Our current drinking bourbon is some very nice and old 103 proof premium small batch variety and way too good for dried fruit snockering in my book.

We also substituted 1/3 C of oats for some of the flour too.  We have these little packages of oatmeal everywhere and I am determined to get rid of them so they won’t fall out the cupboard every time you open a door… Sheesh!  One down.

We kept all the chocolate chips but made them the mini size this time - since it was going in the mini oven.  It took an hour at 350 F for this bread to hit 180F in the center and be declared done by Lucy who looked a little hungry if you ask me...... and 5 more F wouldn't have hurt any..

From what I can tell, none of the change we made for this bake hurt the taste of our banana bread in the least - which is usually made into cupcakes and frosted with cream cheese icing.  No frosting this time -plain will do.

Brownman’s Banana Bread or Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Dry Mix:

1 ½ C plus 2 T flour

¼ tsp salt

1/8 tsp each ginger, cloves, allspice

1 tsp each cinnamon and nutmeg

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp baking powder

1 C chopped walnuts

1 C chopped chocolate chips

Bourbon Fruit – add bourbon to below dried fruits in a Pyrex 1 cup measuring cup covered with plastic wrap.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds and set aside 15 minutes to plump up fruits.

2 T bourbon

¼ C raisins or sultanas

¼ C dried cranberries

¼ C dried apricots cut into raisin size pieces

Wet Mix:

 3 mashed up ripe bananas

1/8 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

½ C vegetable oil

½ C each brown and white sugar 

Add ½ C sugar, ½ C brown sugar and Bourbon fruits to wet mix and stir until sugar is dissolved.  Mix the wet into the dry and stir 50 times with spatula until the flour is incorporated
Quickly fill cupcake paper liners 3/4th full or put into PAM sprayed large bread loaf pan.

Bake cupcakes for about 12-16 minutes until wooden toothpick comes out clean.  Loaves will take 45 minutes or more for wooden skewer to come out clean. 

After 20 minutes remove from pans and let cool completely on wire racks.  Ice both with cream cheese vanilla icing and put sprinkles on each to decorate per the holiday or special occasion.  Makes about 21 cupcakes or 1 large bread loaf pan.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

1/4 C butter, softened

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

8 oz. package powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

You can cub the juice of ½ of a lemon and the zest if you prefer that to vanilla.

Preparation

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended; stir in vanilla.