This story is not about the damn good banana bread you see in the photo above. This banana bread is damn good, though! It’s so good in fact that I hid it from my kids after I taste-tested the first slice. (I’ll bake them something else. They’ll be alright.) No, this is not about this damn good banana bread, which is studded with chocolate chips, speckled with walnuts, and extremely tender and moist (yup, I said moist). This is the story about one of my most favorite baking tools… the instant read thermometer. You see, I’ve become a very serious, very important, super charming stay-at-home mom who bakes a lot. Because of that I require accuracy when I bake, therefore, I weigh out all of my ingredients, and I always take the temperature of my desserts to determine when they are perfectly done. I also take the temperature of my softened butter before I cream it with the sugar (65º to 67º). Heck, I even take my own temperature right before I I get started. (Not really). The point is this… if you’re serious about baking then get serious about accuracy. It will make you a better baker.
Let’s make this damn good banana bread, shall we?
I adapted this recipe from Epicurious. Their recipe did not include chocolate chips. In fact, they discouraged adding them, but I’m a rule breaker (I’m more of a sheep), and I wanted to walk on the dark side (i’m scared of the dark).
A couple of things to keep in mind when making banana bread:
- If using walnuts (and you should), toast them before hand. It will enhance the flavor of the banana bread.
- This recipe uses sour cream. Sour cream, buttermilk, and cream cheese are very useful ingredients in baking. They add more moisture and flavor to your cake, while also creating a tender texture.
- Buy yourself an instant read thermometer. The banana bread is perfectly baked when it reaches between 205º F. to 210º F.
Okay, let’s do it! The picture below is misleading as it looks like you mix all of the ingredients together. This is not so. That would be too easy. There are many stages to the mixing process. First, mix the dry ingredients together, and set aside. Next, in a separate bowl mix the wetter ingredients together (mashed banana, sour cream, and vanilla), and set aside. Third, cream the brown sugar and butter together in another bowl. Add the eggs to that, and then mix in the banana mixture. Add the dry ingredients in two stages. Finally, add in the toasted walnuts, and chocolate chips (see photo below).
Pour the thick batter into a greased 9″x 5″ loaf pan.
Bake in a 350º F. oven for about an hour, or until the internal temperature reaches 205º to 210º F.
Try your best to let it cool completely before slicing it up.
Enjoy!
Notes
Special equipment needed: 9"x 5" loaf pan, standing mixer with paddle attachment, or hand-held mixer, rubber spatula, wire rack, digital thermometer
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick or 113 g) Unsalted Butter, at room temperature (65 degrees F.)
- 1 and 2/3 cups (208 g) All-Purpose Flour
- 3 medium Ripe Bananas
- 1/4 cup Sour Cream
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp. Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp. Salt
- 1 cup packed (200 g) Dark Brown Sugar
- 2 Large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (50 g) Walnuts, chopped
- 1/2 cup (84 g) Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place chopped walnuts on a baking sheet. When oven is ready, bake the walnuts for about 8 minutes, or until fragrant. Set aside. Leave the oven on.
- Grease a 9"x5" loaf pan with butter. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mash up the bananas. Mix in the sour cream, and vanilla. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a bowl connected to a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand-held mixer), beat the butter, and brown sugar until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula. On low speed, mix in the eggs one at a time.
- Add the banana mixture and mix until just combined.
- Add the dry ingredients in two batches, mixing on low speed. When there are no traces of flour, and everything has been incorporated shut it down.
- Fold in the toasted walnuts, and chocolate chips.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth it out on top.
- Bake for 60 to 65 minutes. Rotate halfway through. The banana bread is ready when a toothpick has come out clean from the center of the bread (205 to 210 degrees F.).
- Cool completely on a wire rack. Run a knife around the perimeter to loosen the bread from the pan. Enjoy!
