Tessy’s Banana Bread

first of many...

So there’s several schools of thought on banana bread.  Some people like it really dense…some people like it with chocolate chips…

Me? Well, I am nut-loaded banana bread person.  I like the amount of bananas to be equal to the amount of nuts. I am a nut. Can’t get enough.

But this recipe doesn’t have nuts!  It has a buttery cinnamon topping, which totally intrigued me.

Could I eat a banana bread that didn’t have nuts and enjoy it?!?

Answer: YES

And boy did I EAT it.  Well Cooper helped.  There’s half a loaf left in the kitchen and Casey hasn’t even arrived home from work yet.

If you like your banana bread moist, light and buttery, this recipe is for you!  If you like a salty sweet topping, then you are in for a treat!  Nuts? What nuts? Who cares about nuts when you have this topping!!

And big props to that one single banana in the recipe. You packed soo much punch, big champ!  I’m sorry I doubted you.

If what I say doesn’t tempt you…the smell from the oven is reason enough to make this!  It’s like the cinnamon roll smell at Ikea but like 1000 times better.

I would suggest making two batches.  Cuz lord knows, this loaf will be gone by the end of the night.

So this was #1 on my TO DO list this AM.

staring me in the face

I had a bunch of RIPE bananas.  Which never happens…we usually eat them before this stage.

Coop has decided to put a slight halt on his love for bananas recently.  Means more for banana bread!

a rare scene at in my kitchen

I get my loaf pyrex lubed up with cooking spray.  Buttery fingers? Not for this girl.

sprayyyyyy

Melted butter & plain yogurt.  A sign of good things to come…

the wet ones

MMM bananas!

mashup

I dare you not to taste this batter.  It’s crazy good.

mixing in the yogurt & milk

Where banana meets batter…

adding the bananas

The real star here…the topping.

butter, numeg, salt & cinnamon

As if this little beauty wasn’t already pretty…

virginal loaf

It gets jeweled with that buttery cinnamon topping!

applying the topping!

40 minutes is a long time to wait…10 mins of resting is even worse.  But it’s worth burning your tongue for.

breaking into it while it's warm

Tessy’s Banana Bread

(recipe Mad Hungry: Feeding Men & Boys)

check out Lucinda Scala Quinn’s blog!

  • 1 cup plus all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • coarse salt
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/3 cup buttermilk (I used 1/2 cup plain yogurt)
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 large banana, mashed (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the topping:

  • 1 tablespoon cold butter, cut into pieces
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter a loaf pan.  Or be like me and use Pam.  I make enough mess in the kitchen. Me and butter hands don’t mix.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup flour, the sugar, baking powder, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

3. Stir in the melted butter and the buttermilk (yogurt if you wanna be like me). Add the egg and beat for 1 minute. Add the banana and vanilla. Stir until well combined. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

4. Make a topping by mashing together the tablespoon of cold butter with the tablespoon of flour, the brown sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Distribute the topping evening over the batter. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until cake tester or toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Cut and serve from the pan.

I dare you to wait 10 minutes for it to be cooled.

  • Michelle

    Yum! I saw that cookbook at the bookstore last week. Would it be lame if I were to get it if I don’t have a man or a boy? I mean, I figure I will eventually…and I really do like hearty meals!

  • Felicity

    Yum, that looks so good!!

  • Tracy

    michelle- not lame at all! it’s more of a comfort food book! If you love to eat, then you will love it. It’s filled with simple, hearty recipes!

    oh boy was it good…..

  • Megan

    I love a topping like that! My surprise banana bread love includes coconut and lime:
    http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=549765

  • Dana

    As a non-nut lover, I think this might be the banana bread for me. I have three banana lovers in my house (I can take them or leave them) so we rarely have brown bananas. I may have to stash some!

  • julo

    Oh my word, that sounds amazing! I usually like my quick breads filled with booze (I’m such a lout, I can’t get enough booze in my baked goods!), but this looks divine! Must try!

  • Joline

    so I bought this book over the weekend. I was very intrigued after seeing it here on your block and then reading MANY rave reviews for it so i thought why not. I haven’t made anything yet although tonight I am making my guy a special dinner from the book(I am thinking of the ribs and italian fries). banana bread is one of my faves and I was lost in the book for a good hour over the weekend getting excited about nearly every recipe! yay! Thanks again for bringing this book to my attention and I will let you know how things turn out!

  • erinlucy

    i thought i had the best banana bread recipe ever (it’s a really buttery and dense one with passionfruit icing) but this one looks pretty great. i might have to try it out and see if it can knock my banana bread out of the top spot!
    ps i love how you have all those pages marked in your recipe book, it must be a good one! the book isn’t for sale in australia yet so i had to order mine online, it hasn’t arrived yet and i’m totally hanging out for it!

  • Tracy

    erinlucy-oh wow! passionfruit ICING!! i love passionfruit! I hope it comes close to being number 1! Half way through marking the recipes I wanted to make, I realized that I was marking every single one! It’s a good one

    Joline- you are welcome. I cant wait to see how you like it! And omg the ribs and fries combo sounds divine!

    julo- mmmm booze+bread. yum!! you have a good combo there.

    megan- wow! that sounds really good. I am going to have to check that out. Sounds very tropical!

  • laura

    Oh that looks so grand! I hate nuts in my bread. heh.

    I think the topping is amazing. Just what every quick bread needs in my opinion.

  • Sook

    Mmmmm I love banana bread! Yours looks so good!

  • Amy

    Awesome pictures! Will you post details about your camera and lenses?

  • Joline

    so I just wanted to let you know that I didn’t make the ribs BUT what I did make instead was the crispy sesame wings(yum!), the italian fries(yum!) and the velvet chocolate pudding with homemade whipped cream(yum!). seriously everything turned out very yummy and I got A LOT of praise! Proving to me what I had already guessed that this book is going to be my new kitchen staple.
    best part is that pudding for breakfast with the whipped cream, of yeah I was THAT girl 🙂

  • Stephanie

    Is there a typo in the recipe? Does it really bake at 300? Inspired by this post I have twice now made double batches and both were big FAILs. (Tasted good, but didn’t look good and the topping sinks right to the bottom while baking.) As a culinary school grad, this doesn’t usually happen to me! Should it be baking at 350?

    Thanks for the inspiration, great photos and recipes!!

    • Tracy

      Stephanie- You are right! The first time I made it, I used 350 because I didn’t read the recipe right and it worked out fine! Second batch I followed the recipe and it didn’t rise and was super flat! Use 350- and bake the same time. I am going to amend the recipe. How weird!

  • Stacey

    Just had my first slice warm out of the oven, delicious! I used 2 smaller bananas from the freezer (I always put bananas in the freezer when they start to get too ripe, great for baking or smoothies) and it turned out wonderful. I think I accidentally used a bit too much kosher salt in the topping, but it ended up a pleasant surprise as the slight salty taste really brings out the bananas. Definitely a keeper and way more moist than my old banana bread recipe. Thanks for sharing!!

  • I'Ching

    I made this recipe three times successfully. But the last two times, they were a total failure! The bread was flat. The only difference was that the first few times, I used only baking soda as I ran out of baking powder. The only thing about that was, of course, the baking soda taste – subtle but detectable. The times which failed, I used both baking soda and baking powder as per the recipe and baked at 350 – according to your recipe. Then I checked the book (which I had just recently purchased – by the way, LSQ should consider giving you a commission for getting so many interested in her book!) and realized that the original recipe calls for 300.

    Now I’m confused as to what I’ve done wrong the last two times – very frustrating as I’m no pro in cooking and baking… Any ideas?

  • Tracy

    I’Ching – I had problems the second time I made the bread. I originally used 350 (because I didn’t read the recipe correctly) and the second time I followed the recipe and used 300 and it turned out flat and took a lot longer to bake. I figured that the recipe was off because of the degrees…but I did used both baking powder and soda like the recipe called for! If you read above, Stephanie had the same problem. I have to make another batch and see how it goes. I am sorry it didn’t turn out for you!

  • Stephanie

    Baking soda and baking powder work differently so can’t be substituted one for the other. That could have been the problem with the flat bread. I think the book must have a typo for the temperature too – I have never heard of baking a quick bread that low, and it sure didn’t work out for me!

  • I'Ching

    Stephanie:

    That’s the thing – it WORKED for me when I used baking soda alone (when I ran out of baking powder). And when I baked according to the recipe i.e. baking soda AND baking powder, the bread sank! Very weird. I’m going to try to bake another batch this evening with just baking soda (and maybe just a little bit of baking powder) and see if it works…

    Tracy, by the way, thanks so much for the inspiration, pictures and ideas!!!

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  • Karlee Hoffart

    Made this yesterday and it was the best banana bread I have ever had-so moist! Thanks!!!

  • Shannon L.

    Thank you so so much for this recipe! It has now become my go-to banana bread recipe. Everyone I give it to asks for the recipe.

  • Alecia

    Thanks for this awesome recipe! I made my very first banana bread with this. It was soo easy to make & ended up tasting great (I even added some chopped walnuts). By the way, you’ve also got me intrigued about that cookbook. Granted, I don’t have a husband or any sons. Heck, I’m only 19 & still living with my parents but all of the recipes you’ve posted from it (and others too!) I want to try. Hmm…

  • kwanster

    made this in the weekend
    absolutely LOVED IT!!
    Didnt last long at all!
    I substitute plain flour with wholemeal flour, it doesnt affect the taste at all, and it gives the banana bread a more wholesome and rusty feel to it! yum!
    thanks for such great recipe! loves the cinnamon toppping!

  • storage website

    mom always says to use very ripe bananas. great recipe by the way.

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  • jess

    The recipe calls for nutmeg but the ingredients list does not say how much….?

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  • Maddie

    Ok, I love that this only requires one banana and minimal ingredients that I already have. Two, this is so delicious when I run out I keep making more. Thanks Tessy/Tracy! I looked to see if you had any banana bread after Joy posted her mango one last week and I wanted to do a bake off. Long story short, both were amazing.

    • Tracy

      Thanks for trying it Maddie! That topping on the bread is amazing, huh? I almost put it on top of a blueberry zucchini bread I was making but I chickened out! I’m gonna have to make Joy’s mango bread STAT.

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  • alex

    can i substitute oil for the butter? if so – is the amount the same?
    x

  • E R I N

    i made this today in between painting canvases for an exhibition….. and oh what a perfect morning tea treat it was!!! i love everything about it (i used the yoghurt because i didn’t have buttermilk in the fridge AND i wanted to be more like YOU!) – its a great little recipe and i adore the topping, what a cool idea! it was rather exciting to be munching away and stumble across one of the crunchy topping bits 🙂 even on my third slice……. i think tin size is important for this smaller mix….i went for a smaller tin and glad that i did 🙂

    good enough to blog about i say!! http://cutyourownfringe.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/october-25-2012.html

    cant wait to try more of your yummy recipes!! xx

  • Kate

    Boy, oh boy was this delicious! I can’t wait for tomorrow morning so I can justify having another piece since it’s a new day, right? 😉

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  • Jess

    Made this last night with half rye flour and baked it as mini muffins with a dollop of the topping on each muffin. They came out so good!

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