Wednesday 30 April 2008

Mom's Banana Apple Bread

I am entering this Banana Apple Bread into the Banana Bread Bakeoff event at Not Quite Nigella.

Earlier this week I received The Sweet Melissa Baking Book, a book with superb reviews. I knew instantly that I needed this book and I wasn’t wrong, this book has page after page of the yummiest bakes. I sat down that evening and was just drooling upon reading one delicious recipe after another. This is one of those books that make you want to get in the kitchen and bake! One of the many recipes that caught my eye was Mom’s Banana Apple Bread; I know there are many recipes out there for banana bread. But this recipe folks is different to any other banana bread recipe you’ll ever experience. You’re probably asking yourself what makes this bread so different? This banana bread is extra-special and it’s all down to the bits of caramelized apple throughout, giving this banana bread so much extra flavour.The sweet apples just meld wonderfully into the spiced bread. Give it a try and you’ll see!


Mom's Banana Apple Bread

Makes one 1½ -quart loaf pan (2lb/900g)

For the apples:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
teaspoon pure vanilla extract


For the banana bread:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
¼ cup fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups very ripe mashed bananas (2 to 3)

Before you start:Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/180oC. Lightly butter and flour a 1 1/2-quart loaf pan.

To make the apples:Preheat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter and brown sugar and heat until bubbling. Add the apples and cinnamon and sauté until golden and tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

To make the banana bread:-In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

In a small bowl, combine the orange juice and vanilla.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three batches, alternating with the orange juice mixture, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each flour addition. Stir in the mashed bananas until combined. Then stir in the reserved apples.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes before unmolding onto the rack to cool further.

*Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. The banana bread keeps well wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, freeze well wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to 3 weeks. Defrost (still wrapped) at room temperature.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

That looks delightful, I can almost smell it from here.

Good luck with the bake off

Vicky said...

Looks great Maria. I love the idea of using caramelised apples. Fab post! Best of luck.
Vicky xxx

Jessy said...

How on earth are you not morbidly obese?!

Pixie said...

Apple desserts are my favourite dessert ever and I love this one!!!! I'm most definately trying this one next Maria. Thanks for sharing and blog is 'up' bright and early ;)

Tarah at Genesis of a Cook said...

Banana and apple? Hm.. Never really tried them together. Sounds, as well as looks delicious! I'll have to try this!

Oh my! Apple pie! said...

Maria I always add grated apples to my banana bread, it keeps it so moist. I must try this recipe...sounds wonderful!

Brilynn said...

The apples would make that cake truly wonderful, looks great!

Maria♥ said...

Thanks everyone for the comments.

For those of you wanting to try this cake, you must! It is so moist and full of flavour.

Maria
x

Kelly-Jane said...

It looks so good Maria! I'll have to check and see if I've marked it :)

bakeorbreak said...

I was just looking at that recipe this morning. What a great cookbook! This bread looks fantastic.

Emily said...

Good luck in the bake off! I think this looks great!

I'm going to have to check out this event.

Ruth Strong said...

Great banana bread!!! I really need to get in on this event too!

Julia from Dozen Flours said...

Yumm... this looks really fabulous, especially lightly toasted. Thanks for sharing!

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

It is funny because I just found your blog and saw your banana bread. I entered something similar the other day with cooked apples. Looking foward to your Simple Bakes site! Would love to be a daring baker but right now Simple Bakes is more up my alley.

Rosie said...

A wonderful entry Maria!! It really looks great and what a great way to use up ripe bananas :)

Rosie x

Maria♥ said...

Thanks everyone for dropping by and leaving comments!

Maria
x

literally said...

I JUST made this bread (after searching for one that included bananas AND apples) and I am incredibly pleased. Glorious! Some fun alterations I made were that I added some scoops of Vanilla yogurt instead of a third banana and added a splash of whiskey. Also tossed in a bunch of walnuts. It took an extra 15 minutes to bake (pretty moist ingredients) but it is a wonderful recipe.

Thank you for sharing with us!

M said...

I stumbled across this recipe on your blog, and I just wanted to let you know that it is by far the BEST sweet bread I have ever had!! I usually don't like to make the same thing over and over, but I've made this bread three times already because my boyfriend and I just can't get enough!

Anonymous said...

delicious! the carmelized apples are a great touch - worth a little extra effort.

Joanne said...

Hi! I was just wondering, how much vanilla do you add with the apples at the beginning? It doesn't say. I er, forgot that step as I didn't see that ingredient. I also used half a cup of orange juice instead of 1/4 cup (must be going blind :) The bread smells amazing, I am sure it taste great! As I used sweeter apples I cut the brown sugar down to 1 tablespoon and the sugar in the mixture down to 1/2 cup and I used raw sugar instead of white. Will let you know how it tastes!