Moist Maple Banana Bread
I have my first sourdough bread rising on my counter, cozy during bulk fermentation. So I get early check next to “bake sourdough”. I made a banana bread a few weeks ago because that felt in quarantine season. So check next to banana bread. I have Dalgona coffee next and then I caught up to the top quarantine kitchen trends. I’ll be honest, banana bread, that should be called banana cake, isn’t my first choice when I want to bake. It isn’t even in my top 5. Which probably discredits this recipe but I’m here to tell you how this loaf is superior, because it’s not overly banana bread-y, or should I say cakey. It’s spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg (cardamom would have been a good addition, too). It’s soaked in maple syrup. And the batter is drowned in Earl Grey tea. In other words, this loaf has depth, flavor, and incredible moistness. She’s a worthwhile cake that will outlive trends. Happy baking!
Moist Maple Spelt Banana Bread
ingredients
2 overripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1 cup dark brown sugar
½ cup oil
½ cup maple syrup, divided
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp sea salt
1 ½ cups spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
⅓ cup earl grey tea, slightly cooled
Demerara sugar
directions
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Line a 9-10 inch loaf pan with parchment paper and spray with oil.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the bananas, eggs, brown sugar, oil, ¼ cup maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix until everything is well incorporated. Add the spelt flour, baking powder, and baking soda and mix until just combined. Stir in the tea and pour batter into the prepared loaf pan.
Sprinkle demerara sugar and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Warm the remaining ¼ cup maple syrup. Remove cake from the oven and poke holes with a toothpick. Drizzle the warmed maple over the cake and allow to absorb as it cools.
Enjoy a slice.
Note: I did not instruct to top the cake with a sliced banana as per the photo, mostly because after 1 day that banana starts browning and lends an unpleasant texture. It’s wiser to skip.