Breakfast, Desserts

Sour Cream Banana Bread

Posted by iavogoodmeal on

I know I know, ANOTHER banana bread recipe? But hear us out – there are two things that make this banana bread recipe different, more moist, more flavorful. Alright, we gave away the first secret ingredient in the title, the sour cream adds a wonderful moistness to the bread without a strong tang that yoghurt can if you’ve seen those recipes. The second ingredient is our homemade chai spice blend that you can also find on our blog – while all banana breads have some sort of spice be it cinnamon or nutmeg, we STRONGLY feel that our spice blend has the perfect warmth for baking – its great in a cup of Indian chai as well! There – you know our secret now! The rest of the ingredients are pretty standard, we make several loaves of this every Christmas as part of our holiday baking – read on for some of our tips and modifications. 

Tips & Tricks

  • You can easily use frozen bananas if you’re like us and keep racking up bananas past their prime – just make sure you mix half frozen half fresh to avoid an overly “wet” bread since the frozen bananas tend to retain more moisture.
  • You can substitute brown sugar for equal parts maple syrup but it will be a sweeter cake – Sneha is Canadian so there is always maple syrup in the mix.
  • Its important not to over mix your batter or you will end up with a dry bread – to avoid this, we prefer adding our mix ins with the wet ingredients and then add dry ingredients.
  • You can bake these in loaf pans or as muffins – same batter works for both! 
  • These freeze REALLY well, once completely cool wrap in plastic wrap and store in a ziplock for up to 4 months; once ready, defrost in fridge overnight and you’re in business.

Recipe Information

  • Prep time: 30 minutes
  • Cook time: 60 minutes
  • Yield: approx. 4 mini loaves

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/4-1/2 cup brown sugar 
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter or 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 ripe bananas (~1+ cup) mashed
  • 4-6 oz of sour cream
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 eggs (if doubling recipe, use 3 eggs)
  • 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • Spice Blend (pick one)
    • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
  • Mix-ins
    • Walnuts, Chocolate, Pecans

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • Grease (and flour if not using nonstick) loaf pans.
  • In large bowl, whisk together sugar and oil.
    • Add eggs, banana, sour cream, vanilla
    • Add salt and spices
    • Blend well
  • Add mix-ins of choice, our favorites are walnuts and dark chocolate chips.
  • Add flour, baking soda, and stir just until dry ingredients are just incorporated – clumps may exist; DO NOT OVERWORK!
  • Pour into loaf pans or muffin tins.
  • Optional: You can add a streusel topping. Drop on top after pouring batter into pan.
    • 1/4 cup Butter, softened (not melted)
    • 1 – 1.5 tsp spice of choice (e.g. cinnamon)
    • 1/2 cup sugar
    • 1/2 cup flour
  • Loaves: Bake for 50-60 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
  • Muffins: Bake for 30 minutes based on size and until toothpick comes out clean.