Light banana bread, the banana cake that isn't too sweet
Many versions of this classic American pastry turn out too sweet and dense. This one opts for a light crumb, closer to a cake than a loaf.
- 4 ripe bananas (400 g peeled)
- 330 g of wheat flour
- 150g of brown sugar
- 2 eggs and 1 yolk
- 80g of Greek yogurt
- 80g of melted butter
- 80 ml of sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- ½ teaspoon of fine salt
- 1 level teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Crumple a sheet of parchment paper, stretch it out and line a rectangular mold with it, letting it overhang the edges for easy unmolding.
- In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- In another bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until smooth. Add the brown sugar, eggs and egg yolk, melted butter, oil, Greek yogurt, and vanilla extract, and mix well.
- Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, using a spatula and folding motions. Avoid overmixing.
- Pour the mixture into the pan and smooth the surface. Bake for approximately 1 hour. Insert a toothpick before removing it from the oven: if it doesn't come out clean, bake for another 5 to 10 minutes.
- Let it rest for about 10 minutes, unmold and let it cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.
Making something halfway between bread and cake with a fruit as sweet and creamy as ripe bananas is an idea that became popular in the United States in the 1930s. It's a way to use up fruit that's starting to darken, and its natural sugar makes the result juicy, aromatic, and undeniably delicious.
The problem is that many recipes are too sweet and dense, and what comes out of the oven is a heavy, cloying block that doesn't quite convince the European palate.
This version leans towards the fluffier side of the classic. Preparation is simple: the bananas should be ripe, and those from the Canary Islands work especially well, but they don't need to be overripe. It also allows for the addition of nuts and other spices besides cinnamon.
