Recipe Courtesy of America’s Test Kitchen
The secrets to this perfectly moist banana bread are two-fold: 1) You start by roasting the ripe bananas to bring out more of their natural sweetness, which allow you to cut back on the granulated sugar that you add into the batter and 2) the addition of fat-free cream cheese into the mix. Flavored with a hint of vanilla extract, this decadent morning treat is calling for a warm café au lait or a tall, cold glass of creamy milk. I love to top my banana bread with chopped nuts for a bit of buttery crunch, and I subbed in half whole wheat flour for half of the all-purpose flour, but that is up to you and your taste buds.
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
‘Banana Bread’
Ingredients:
- Recipe Courtesy of America’s Test Kitchen: Best-Ever Light & Healthy Recipes
- 4 ripe bananas
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 2 ounces fat-free cream cheese, cut into 4 pieces and chilled
Directions:
- (Keep in mind that I shortened the cooking steps a bit from the original published version; same ideas just shorter in content*)
- Lightly spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Bake bananas on rimmed baking sheet until skins are completely black, about 20 minutes. Set aside and let cool completely, before peeling and mashing with a potato masher or fork.
- Whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a bowl and set aside. With a handheld mixer at medium-low speed, mix flour together with next 4 dry ingredients (through salt) until combined. Add oil and cream cheese and mix until only pea-size pieces of cream cheese remain, about 1 minute. Slowly beat in the egg mixture, then add mashed bananas and mix for 30 seconds or until fully incorporated.
- Transfer batter to the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Let loaf cool for 1 hour before serving.
Tagged: America's Test Kitchen, banana bread, bananas, bread, breakfast, cream cheese, quick bread, roasted bananas
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