Food: Bourbon Banana Bread
Ahh, spring has finally arrived. The mornings are bright and perfect for sitting on the patio with coffee in hand. If your coffee has a little Bourbon Cream in it, who am I to judge? But what better to have with your coffee than a slice of delicious Bourbon Banana Bread. It’s actually bourbonlicious!
Some people enjoy their banana bread with no extras or “bits”(nuts, raisins, chocolate). But since I’m in charge of this kitchen, I’m going all in and I’ve added walnuts and extra dark chocolate.Remember our extra dark chocolate from our bourbon and chocolate pairing a few weeks ago? I couldn’t wait to bake something that incorporates bourbon and chocolate and here we are. Besides, a handful of chocolate and nuts adds a nice little boost of protein to your day, so it’s a good thing,
Bourbon Banana Bread (1 loaf)
Ingredients:
2 cups of all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup of butter, softened
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
3-4 mashed ripe bananas( I used 4 medium bananas)
4 tbsp bourbon + 2 oz
1 cup of walnuts or pecans – chopped
6 oz of dark chocolate, chopped
Icing: (totally optional)
1 cup of sifted icing sugar (this makes a nice shiny glaze)
4 tbsp bourbon
Method:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan.
2.Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3.In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. You can do this by hand, use your kitchen aid or your blender.
4.Add eggs, one at a time and blend. Add the bananas and the 4 tbsp of bourbon. Mix well.
5.Add the flour mixture all at once and mix until just wet and blended. Fold in the nuts and chocolate.
6.Scrape into your prepped loaf pan. Bake in the centre of the oven for 50-65 min, checking with a skewer at 50min.
7.While baking, pour yourself 2 oz of bourbon and relax and congratulate yourself on being a bourbon baker.
8.Once the skewer comes out of the bread clean, remove the bread from the oven. Let it rest in the pan, on a rack,for 15 min then invert on the rack to cool completely.
Icing:
Combine the icing sugar and bourbon and mix well using a whisk, until smooth. If you prefer a thinner consistency, add a little water. Thicker, increase the icing sugar up to 1.5 cups. Drizzle this over the cooled bread or spread the icing if thick.
This icing is boozy (I’m all about the boozy) and adds quite a kick. The bread is already delicious with the addition of chocolate and walnuts, so feel free to omit the icing. Or ice half the bread – just cut the icing ingredients in half.
Your loaf of Bourbon Banana Bread will keep for up to a week (if it lasts that long!) or you can freeze it too. The flavor intensifies over time, so I recommend baking and letting is sit overnight. You’ll thank me later.
Cheers!
Maureen Linehan