I finally did something with those brown bananas that have been sitting on the counter for days, disgusting all of us. Or maybe just me. I don’t know. I find them disgusting!
But I’d seen this lightened-up version of cinnamon swirl banana bread a while ago and wanted to try it out. Its time had come.
I was supposed to use three bananas, but I had four, and I was tired of looking at them, so I used all four and mashed, mashed, mashed. To that I added pure cane sugar (instead of white), a beaten egg, vanilla, and finally, a quarter cup of melted butter.
I stirred it all together. The next step was a little odd, I though. I sprinkled a teaspoon of baking soda over the mixture.
I did the same with a dash of salt. Then I added the flour.
(As an aside, I finally looked up the difference between a pinch and a dash, and discovered that there is also a specific measurement for a smidgeon! And a tad!)
I stirred to combine.
Then I made the cinnamon sugar. The blogger who posted the recipe suggested reducing the sugar to 1/8 cup, but even at that I ended up with an awful lot of it. (That’s why it didn’t matter much when I spilled some onto the counter.)
I poured half the batter into a loaf pan, then sprinkled a reasonably thick layer of cinnamon sugar on top.
Then I added almost all the rest of the batter, and added more cinnamon sugar.
And then I poured on the rest of the batter, and sprinkled more cinnamon sugar down the middle in a line.
It said to bake for 40-60 minutes, but mine was done at closer to 30.
I let it sit in the pan for another 15 minutes or so, then flipped the pan and removed it. It smelled wonderful.
And look how lovely it was inside when I cut it open.
Perfect texture, with nice banana blobs (but not too many) and a sugary cinnamon swirl that enhances without overpowering. It will not make your teeth sing…just your tastebuds. Here’s proof:
I made this last night, and there is just one thin slice of it left. You know, I loved the original recipe but it was very heavy on the Weight Watchers points, and this one is reasonable, and just as delicious. I think it’s best eaten the day after baking. and if you wanted to add a little decadence, I think mini chocolate chips, used sparingly, would be fantastic.
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