Recipe of the Week: Brown Butter Banana Walnut Bread
Imagine waking up to the smell of freshly baked banana bread coming right from your kitchen. This was my surprise the other day when my husband, now retired and not a baker at all, decided to do something about the overripe bananas that were sitting on my kitchen counter. After searching in one of my cookbooks, he found a recipe that seemed appropriate and after gathering all the ingredients he set out to the task ahead and measured and mixed, adding a few personal touches along the way that he remembered his grandmother, a fabulous baker herself, using during his time spent with her while he was a child. As I stumbled into the kitchen I couldn’t believe it. There he was, my husband baking. After he made sure that the bread was completely done by inserting a long skewer in the middle of it, he remove it from the oven and let it sit to cool on the counter. Shaking my head I poured myself a cup of coffee and I was rewarded with a slice of delicious banana bread full of raisins and walnuts. I closed my eyes as I took my first bite. It was almost too delicious to believe. Now if only the mess in my kitchen would disappear! Makes one 9-by-5 inch loaf. (Chef tip: Make sure not to over mix the batter when making a quick bread. It will become tough and crack when baking.)
2 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
8 tablespoons (one stick) unsalted butter
4 very ripe bananas, peeled and roughly chopped
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins, soaked in a sweet liquor
Butter and flour, for loaf pan
Butter and flour a loaf pan. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees. Melt butter in a small sauce pan. Keep over medium heat until it browns. This will take about 7-10 minutes, be very careful not to burn. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine sugars with eggs and beat until well incorporated. Add in buttermilk, bananas, vanilla paste, salt and cinnamon. Beat to combine.
Sift together baking powder, baking soda and flour. Add sifted mixture to the banana mixture and mix until just combined. With a spatula, fold in browned butter, drained raisin and walnuts; pour banana bread batter into the prepared loaf pan.
Bake at 350F until firm, about 35-40 minutes. Serve with sweetened cream cheese.
Sweetened Cream Cheese:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoon powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Beat the cream cheese until very smooth. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth again. Continue beating for about five more minutes to aerate.