Brown Butter Cardamom Banana Bread

Brown Butter Cardamom Banana Bread

I hope you've got your bananas ripening quickly because this bread is off the hook. Nutty brown butter, fragrant cardamom and honey are all combined to make this tasty quick bread. I'm sure many of you have a go-to banana bread recipe that you love (we do too) but this was a great way to liven things up a bit. I was inspired by Christopher Kimball and saw his recipe for brown butter banana bread. I played around with his basic recipe and added my own twists along the way  (subbing  local honey in place of brown sugar and used half whole wheat flour) but otherwise followed his measurements.  This is such a unique and tasty bread that I'm not sure I'll make banana bread any other way again. I'm so happy with this and I cannot wait to see what you all think if you give it a whirl. Enjoy this banana bread with some strong black coffee and a good breakfast date and viola! Your morning just got a whole lot better.

Brown Butter Banana Cardamom Bread

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Serves: 1 loaf

Ingredients

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cardamom
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 2 cups mashed banana (from about 4 very ripe bananas)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F with a rack in the upper middle section. Grease a 9-by- 5 inch loaf pan and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  3. In a medium saucepan over medium heat melt the butter. Once melted, continue to cook, swirling the pan often, until the butter is fragrant and deep brown, about 2-3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately stir in the cardamom. Carefully add the honey and bananas (the butter will sizzle and bubble a bit) and whisk until combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and using a wooden spoon fold until well combined and no dry flour remains.
  4. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and bake in the oven until the top is a deep golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle. About 50-55 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through baking.
  5. Cool the bread in the pan for about 15 minutes before carefully removing it to completely cool on a wire rack.

Notes

*Store bread at room temperature in plastic wrap for 4 days *Cooking times will vary from kitchen to kitchen

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