Banana Nut Bread

 I often wonder though why is it called “Banana Bread” because apart from the fact that it’s usually baked in a loaf pan, nothing about it qualifies it to be a bread. In my opinion it’s just a moist and delicious cake……..very easy to make too.It might be interesting to read renowned baker David Lebovitz’s post (banana bread or cake) on this topic .

You can play around with the flavoring ….cinnamon/vanilla and add chocolate chips instead of walnuts/almonds. I prefer vanilla extract but didn’t add any this time since I had run out of it , so there was just the natural flavor of bananas which was good enough. I used chopped almonds since that was what I had at hand.

Ingredients:1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
2 large eggs
2 to 3 ripe mashed bananas
Water to equal 1 3/4 cup with bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder or both ( I prefer 1 tsp vanilla + 1/4 tsp cinnamon)
1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup nuts, chocolate chips, or dried fruit

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
1. With a stand or hand mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla and eggs and mix well.
2. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt .
3. In a liquid measuring cup, mash bananas. Add enough water to equal 1 3/4 cup total volume.
4. Add bananas + water to the batter and beat for 30 seconds.
5. Gently stir flour mixture into butter, eggs and banana mixture.   Add optional nuts, chocolate chips, or dried fruit and stir just until all ingredients are combined and distributed evenly.
6. Pour into one large or two mini loaf pans.
7. Bake for 55-60 minutes (45 for mini loaves).
8. Remove from oven and cool on rack for 10-15 minutes in the pan.  Use a knife to cut around the outside and transfer from  pan to the cooling rack.  Allow to cool completely.
9. Store in a bread box.  Can be wrapped in plastic and foil and frozen for later use.