Perfect Banana Nut Bread

First, I can say this because it came from my great grandmother. This recipe for Banana Nut Bread is perfect. It originated with my great-grandmother, then was my grandmother’s, then my dad’s. And now it’s mine. I have to share because it’s so wonderful. It’s full of butter, sugar, and nostalgia. The smell when it’s baking…oh the smell! There’s no banana nut bread candle that nears the real deal. Sometimes I bake it just so my house will smell like heaven.

It’s magic. It’s perfect.

Here’s a picture of me baking it earlier.

See? …magic. 🙂

Here’s everything you’ll need.

Ok, ok. Those aren’t the bananas I used. They just looked so much prettier for the picture. The bananas I actually used came out of the freezer and looked like this.

See why I posed the pretty yellow ones?

Don’t be afraid. Two things to keep in mind: 1) When you freeze bananas, they turn darker than they were when you put them in, and 2) brown bananas mean delicious flavor. They’re not rotten. They’re delicious. Just not pretty enough for a picture.

This recipe calls for 5-6 ripe bananas. I only had 4 in my freezer, so I ripened 2 more in the oven. If you need to do this, just bake them at 350 for 8-10 minutes until they’re brown and smushy. Here’s the before and after of the bake-ripened bananas.

Easy peasy.

Start by whipping your bananas in a bowl. This is so you don’t have crazy banana chunks in your bread. They should look like this.

Then add butter, sugar, and oil to the bowl of your mixer and cream together all delicious-like.

We’re off to a good start.

Whip up 4 eggs, and dump ’em in. Then, the batter is smooth and thick, like glue.

Beautiful.

Then, add your nuts.

Due respect to my great grandmother’s recipe, the original calls for raisins. My dad never put them in, so neither did I. But if you love raisins, here’s where they go in, with the nuts.

For your dry ingredients, in a separate bowl, sift together your flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda & allspice.

Slowly add this mixture to the mixing bowl.

Then add those magnificent bananas!

So you’re gonna bake this in your handy dandy bundt pan. If you’re like me, you’ve had many a bundt cake come apart in millions of delicious, albeit, much less beautiful pieces when you try to remove said cake from said pan. Never again, my friends. Never again. Buy this stuff immediately.

It truly is a baker’s joy. My cakes come out of their pans perfectly.

Every. Single. Time.

Give your friend the bundt a generous layer of this magic-in-a-can. You’ll never regret it.

Pour your batter into your pan and bake at 350 for about an hour or until it’s set in the middle. I live at high elevation, and I think my oven runs a little low on temp, so mine needed an extra 20 minutes. Pay close attention to the top of the bread, and add foil to cover it if needed to avoid burning on the top while the inside is still baking.

Also, this recipe makes a lot of batter. All of it may not fit in your pan. Do what you will with the remainder, but I think the original recipe actually recommends you eat it with a spatula…it’s been passed down for four generations. There’s no way to know for sure.

Once it’s set in the middle, take it out and let it cool for several minutes. Until it’s cool enough to handle with no mitts. Turn it over and remove it from the pan.

And the heavens opened and the angels sang!

Beautiful. Magic. Perfect.

Here’s the breakdown:

~Ingredients~

1/2 c butter, softened

1/2 c oil

2 1/2 c sugar

4 eggs, beaten

3 c flour, sifted

1 1/2 c chopped nuts/raisins (I use pecans, but you can use whatever tickles your fancy)

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

2 teaspoons baking soda

5-6 medium ripe bananas, whipped

~Directions~

-Preheat oven to 350.

-Whip bananas in small bowl.

-Cream butter, oil & sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.

-Add eggs (well beaten), chopped nuts, and raisins if desired.

-Sift remaining dry ingredients together in a large separate bowl, then slowly add to butter/sugar mixture.

-Add whipped bananas.

-Bake at 350 in generously greased bundt pan for 1 hour or until set in the middle.

-Remove from oven and let cool before turning over and removing from pan.

Voila! I hope your family enjoys this recipe as much as ours has! I can’t imagine you won’t! Let me know what recipes say “home” to you!