Brown Butter Banana Bread
This brown butter banana bread is a decadent morning treat. If you’ve been saving up ripe bananas in the freezer, this is your reminder to use them! I used three frozen bananas and brown butter — yep, brown butter — alongside brown sugar, cake flour, vanilla bean paste and chocolate chips for this scrumptious version of the classic banana bread.
I am a new brown butter convert, and if you haven’t used it in a baked good like banana bread, you simply must try it. It’s super easy, you just put your butter in a sauce pan and simmer it, stirring constantly, until it turns brown. It adds a depth and flavor to cookies, cakes and breads that I’ve never been able to achieve otherwise.
Another trick to making this bread taste amazing is the mixture of vanilla bean paste (extract will do) and almond extract. The two flavors combine with the brown butter to create something truly special. And the brown sugar helps too! Brown sugar and brown butter combine to form magic.
I made this in a regular loaf pan, but it would make excellent muffins too, and take less time to bake. You can also put this in a square pan and bake it for less time for more of a snack-cake appearance.
This recipe would also be great with a frosting drizzled on top, or served alongside some fruit or a frittata, but it stands on its own well with a cup of coffee. This can be a breakfast cake or a snack cake, and would also be great with some walnuts or almonds added in. Raisins or chopped apples would also make great additions! If you are a coconut person, that would be my personal choice of an add in.
Brown Butter Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 stick butter browned
- 1 large egg
- 3 regular ripe bananas
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 cup chocolate chips (heaping)
Instructions
- Sift all of the dry ingredients except for the chocolate chips together, mix well. In another bowl, add the bananas and mash them well.
- In a sauce pan, add your stick of butter (1/2 cup) and melt it on medium high. Whisk it until it turns brown. Remove from the heat.
- Add the butter, egg and extracts to the mashed bananas.
- Fold the dry ingredients and wet ingredients together.
- Add chocolate chips. Mix.
- Spray a loaf pan (about 4" by 8.5") with oil, I use avocado.
- Pour batter into the pan. Bake at 350 for about 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out of the middle clean. Be sure to let it cool completely before serving.
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About The Author
Sarah
I am a mom of two and wife to a martial arts school owner, full-time social media professional and avid cook and gardener. I love creating recipes and involving my kids in the process. The food we cook is usually dairy-free and gluten-free, and sometimes paleo, but we make exceptions (ahem, sourdough bread). The “hippie” part of this blog comes into play in the ingredients we use—I’m pretty vigilant about the health of my family and you could even call me “crunchy.” The “modern” part is that I am busy! You won’t catch me making my own nut milk or churning butter (not that there’s anything wrong with that). I’m more than happy to take the shortcuts provided by our lovely grocery stores and online shopping —especially in the midst of this global pandemic.