Sunday, February 28, 2010

Crunchy Top Banana Bread



I woke up yesterday morning with a distinct purpose. I had to make something which had cinnamon and sugar and pecans. The whole of my last week was spent dreaming of these flavors and I have no idea why. Wait a minute, I think I know why. Last weekend I had a not-so-successful attempt at making cinnamon rolls. In my enthusiasm and last minute rush, I missed activating the yeast correctly. The rolls tasted good but they didn't puff up as expected. However the filling I made for these rolls with brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans left a lasting impression with me. When the rolls were baking they enveloped the house in this wonderful sugary and cinnamony aroma. It was bliss and I was waiting all week to recreate it.

So yesterday morning found me in the quest of a goodie with cinnamon and sugar. An overripe banana looking at me wistfully provided the answer - Bake a banana bread and top it with this mixture of my dreams! I got right to it... and I am very happy to report that this weekend's baking attempt was way more successful than last weekends. And yes I did recreate the cinnamon-sugary delightfulness. It was the perfect way to start the weekend!





Crunchy topped Banana bread
Notes: I used this Banana bread recipe from Cooking Light with a few modifications which included using half cup sugar and one-fourth cup honey in place of one cup sugar. I used another one-fourth cup of brown sugar for the topping. I also omitted salt since I was using salted butter.

Ingredients:
2 cups Unbleached All-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup butter, softened (I used Smart Balance)
2 eggs
1 & 1/2 cups mashed bananas (3 medium ripe bananas)
1/3 cup plain non-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the topping:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 & 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Combine flour and baking soda in a bowl and mix together with a whisk.
- Place sugar and butter in a large bowl and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well combined (around 1 minute).
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add banana, yogurt, honey and vanilla and beat until blended.
- Add flour mixture and beat at low speed until well combined and moist.
- Spoon the batter into a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan coated with butter or cooking spray.
- For the topping, mix all the ingredients together and then sprinkle on top of the batter in the loaf pan, covering it evenly.
- Bake in a 350F oven for around an hour or till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool ten minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove from the pan and cool completely.

Makes one loaf and a very happy baker!



7 comments:

  1. wow, such great click, lovely..banana bread looks so yum especially with the crunchy top.

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  2. Hi radhika,bread looks so perfectly done and seems to be very tasty too...wonderful click as usual and wish u a very happy holi ...

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  3. Banana loaf looks great, enjoy. Happy Holi.

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  4. I never need an excuse to crave cinnamon, sugar and pecans...but maybe that's just because my craving for it is constant. This bread looks amazing! I love the picture.

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  5. Radhika, Banana and Walnut quick bread is my fave slice breakfast, looks wonderful here.

    Yes, I have ordered his "engulfed in flames" cd book too, can't wait to get it! :)

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  6. love that extra crunchy topping. Banana bread is my favorite too.. specially since mashed up bananas makes for a moist bread and so I can go easy on the butter. Nice click too.

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