I have said before that I am a banana bread purist (see Buttermilk Banana Bread and Banana Bread for One). I don’t add nuts, I don’t like it with chocolate chips, I leave out spices so the banana flavor shines through. But alas, I think we all at some point end up with more bananas than we know what to do with. This happened to me after a grocery delivery order gave me eight, rather than the three I had requested. Being a food writer, I realized I should take the opportunity to develop something new rather than repeating a classic. So as the bananas sat there next to a jar of local honey, I made a decision. And here we go.
Honey rather than sugar adds a mild sweetness that adds a lovely earthy note to the loaf and keeps it really moist. But I felt it needed a little boost, so I added a honey glaze on top. I love it – you get this buttery pop of sweet on the top and a mellower loaf on the bottom. You may not need all the glaze for the top, but it’s too much of a faff reducing the recipe. I like to serve a slice of the bread drizzled with some extra honey butter I’ve reheated in the microwave.
stand mixer, loaf lifter pan liner, ceramic loaf pan
Ingredients
- For the Bread
3 ripe bananas
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons buttermilk
1 egg
3 Tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
- For the Glaze
2 Tablespoons honey
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
Directions
- For the Bread
- Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray covering every corner and surface.
- Peel the bananas and break into chunks. Drop into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat at medium speed until the bananas are well mashed and almost smooth. Add the honey, buttermilk, egg, canola oil and vanilla and beat on medium until smooth and completely combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix on low very briefly – stop after about 30 seconds to scrape the bowl and mix just until there is only a little flour showing. Stop the mixer and use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom and of the bowl and fold just until no streaks of flour are visible. Scrape into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven to a wire rack.
- For the Glaze
- Right before you take the loaf from the oven, melt the honey and butter in a measuring jug in the microwave or in a small saucepan. Whisk well to combine, then brush over the hot bread about 2 minutes after you take it from the oven. Use a pastry brush or the back of a spoon. If you prefer, you can remove the loaf from the pan and glaze the sides as well. The glaze does make the outside gloriously sticky, so if you plan to for it to be eaten out of hand, you might just stick to the top. Leave to cool completely before serving.
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