My mom, Rebecca (my brother and I refer to her as "Becky"), is an awesome cook. She’s extremely good at creating her own recipes (a skill I lack). One year she decided to create the perfect banana bread recipe. She went through eight (!!!) versions before deeming it perfect. After nine weeks of experimenting, the rest of my family and I were SICK of eating banana bread (talk about having too much of a good thing), but her finished product is superb. This is probably my most shared recipe. To clarify: this is banana cake. There is nothing healthy about this recipe, but let’s be honest, that’s why it tastes so good. I recommend making a double recipe because it’s sure to be a hit and won’t last long.
I posted a video on my instagram story showing out to make this recipe, make sure you check it out @thestayhomedaughter.
Banana Bread
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup very ripe bananas (about 2-3 bananas)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup walnuts, chopped
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and grease again.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and two sugars on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl once during mixing. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder into a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.
In a blender, combine the bananas, sour cream, and buttermilk. Blend until smooth.
With the mixer on low, alternately add the flour mixture and banana mixture in thirds, starting and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined.
Pour batter into pan, smoothing the top. Sprinkle the the nuts on top. Bake for 60-65 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack set over a sheet pan to cool completely before slicing.
Hot Tip: if you don’t have buttermilk on hand, add 1 tsp. lemon juice or white vinegar into 1/2 cup milk. Set aside for a few minutes before adding to banana mixture.
Get the Look:
These Williams-Sonoma glass nesting bowls are probably my most-used kitchen tool. I use them for everything. They are excellent for melting chocolate either in the microwave or over a bain-marie. I use the mise en place method for cooking where I measure out all of my ingredients and prep everything before I start. Having lots of different-sized bowls makes that process easier. While these bowls are by no means necessary, I like everything to look uniform (aesthetic is important). I would highly recommend.
Glass Nesting Bowls: Williams-Sonoma
My mom gave me my grandmother's KitchenAid mixer and it is my prized possession. It makes whipping up baked goods a breeze. It is admittedly expensive, so while it's a nice-to-have kitchen tool, like the bowls, it is not necessary. I would recommend getting some sort of stand mixer if you bake a lot, as using a hand mixer can get tedious.
KitchenAid Mixer: Crate & Barrel
I tried this vanilla after reading that Ina Garten recommends it (yes, I recognize that I am the ultimate fan girl). I've tried several different vanillas and can confirm that this one is the best. It gives your recipes more depth of flavor. A little goes a long way, so one bottle lasts a long time. It is more expensive than other brands but my justification is if you're going to the trouble of baking something, you might as well use the best ingredients you can.
Nielsen Massey Vanilla: Cassandra's Kitchen
Thanks for reading!
- Sam