Brown Sugar Banana Bread
Banana bread sweetened entirely with brown sugar and enriched with sour cream, under a brown sugar streusel that bakes into a crunchy lid. Very ripe bananas are non-negotiable.
- Prep20 min
- Cook1 h 5 min
- Total2 h 30 min
- Serves10
AI-generated illustration
Contains:dairyegggluten
Ingredients
Method
- Mash the bananas with a fork until mostly smooth but still lumpy; you should have about 1 1/2 cups. Skins that are heavily blackened are exactly right, since the starch has converted to sugar and the flavor is far stronger.
- Whisk 1 cup of the brown sugar into 8 tablespoons of the melted butter, then beat in the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract until smooth. Fold in the mashed bananas.
- Whisk 1 3/4 cups of the flour with the baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon, then fold the dry into the wet with about 15 strokes, stopping while a few streaks remain.
- Rub the 2 tablespoons cold butter into the remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt with your fingertips until it forms irregular clumps.
- Scrape the batter into a greased 9 by 5 inch (23-by-13-cm) loaf pan lined with a parchment sling and scatter the streusel over the top, right to the edges.
- Bake at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) for 60 to 70 minutes, until a skewer in the center comes out clean and the loaf reads about 205 degrees F (96 degrees C). Tent loosely with foil after 40 minutes if the streusel is browning fast. Cool in the pan 20 minutes, then lift out and cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- Underripe bananas can be ripened quickly by baking them in their skins at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 20 minutes until black, then cooling.
- The loaf keeps 4 days wrapped and freezes well sliced.
