As I’ve said before, there is an art to buying bananas to make sure you don’t have too many that go brown. There is also an art to buying food in the week leading up to a vacation, so you don’t have a bunch of food go bad. I sort of bungled it before my trip to Europe – I emptied out my fridge, but I had two extra bananas! What’s a gal to do other than to bake a banana bread that she can freeze to have waiting for her when she returns from a 12 day trip??
Sometimes, I impress myself. Returning from a trip can feel like some relief of coming home, but also launching straight into work or something can be a bummer. So… nothing like having some banana bread to ease that transition a bit!
I know my parents also expect having a baked good in the house when they visit, and they’re coming into town before I return. And I of course need to make good on the expectation for dessert!
This is a simple bake: cinnamon, white chocolate chips, blueberries. It used up the white chocolate chips and blueberries that I needed to use up. Not overly sweet, but just sweet enough!
I didn’t even brown the butter in this, as the original recipe suggested, and it was still good! Which feels like a very ringing endorsement.
I’m writing this before I set off on my trip, but I aim to take photos and notes about all the baked goods and meals I have on this trip. I want to add some more travel-log style posts to this blog! So I am manifesting in advance that I stay on top of things and get everything together for a post. Stay tuned.
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PinIngredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup lightly packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup sour cream or yogurt
- 1¼ cups very ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 heaping cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup dried or fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan and set aside.
- Melt the butter and allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, light brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and sour cream or yogurt. Stir in the mashed bananas. When the butter has cooled, whisk it into the wet ingredients until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients all at once and gently fold until just combined. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to catch any hidden pockets of flour. Avoid overmixing—this is how we keep our loaf tender. Fold in the chocolate chips and blueberries, saving a few to sprinkle on top.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle on remaining chocolate chips. Bake for 50–60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs attached. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Adapted from Joy the Baker