Every once in awhile I like to blog on a silly food holiday. I don’t necessarily celebrate all my silly food holidays although I admit that if I can squeeze in some homeschooling along with cooking–I’m usually game.
Sadly, I dropped the ball. Yesterday was National Banana Bread Day. But I was out doing the family’s shopping for the week. I completely neglected my e-mail informing me that February 23 is National Banana Bread Day.
The reason this is a travesty is because it just so happens that I have the best banana bread recipe in the world. It’s one that I’ve borrowed from Family Fun magazine. It is by far the sweetest, moistest, bestest (which by the way is only a word when used to describe this recipe) banana bread I have ever made. So although I’ve missed National Banana Day, I propose that we post-celebrate. If it’s cold outside and you need something to make your house all snuggly warm–why not whip up a batch of this delicious quick bread?
You will need:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar 2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 medium-large very ripe bananas (1 cup mashed)
1/2 cup sour cream
Heat the oven to 325°. Line a 5- by 9-inch loaf pan, preferably one with a light interior, with enough waxed paper to drape over the long sides. This will make the baked bread a cinch to remove and the pan easy to clean. Set the pan aside.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. In a large bowl, cream the butter using an electric mixer. Gradually add the sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Next, add the vanilla extract and blend briefly. Set both bowls aside.
Mash the bananas (after peeling of course) with a fork or a potato masher and measure out 1 cup. Add the sour cream and stir to blend. Set the bowl aside.
Using a wooden spoon, blend a third of the dry mixture into the butter-sugar mixture. Add the rest of the ingredients in this order, stirring well after each addition: half of the banana mixture, half of the remaining dry mixture, the rest of the banana mixture, the rest of the dry mixture.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spoon. Bake on the center oven rack until a tester inserted deep into the center of the bread comes out clean, about 70 to 75 minutes.
Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and cool it in the pan for about 20 minutes. Using the waxed paper, lift the bread from the pan and place it on the rack. Pull down the sides of the paper and allow the bread to cool thoroughly before slicing. Makes 10 or more servings.
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