I found myself with a bunch of over-ripe bananas that needed using up the other day. I will sometimes buy bananas thinking that I am going to have them on my cereal, or pop them into smoothies and then I don't. I am not a person who eats raw bananas a lot.
I didn't want to throw them away. That would be a shame when you can bake so many tasty things using over-ripe bananas. I wanted to try something different however and so I did an online search and discovered this recipe for Blender Banana Bread by the Cooking Mom.
I was intrigued.
I do often blitz my ripe bananas with my stick banana to make them really smooth when baking. I am one of those people who hates chunks of banana in my bakes. This recipe involved blitzing the banana, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla together until smooth.
I didn't read the recipe properly to begin with and blitzed everything together. Including the flour, etc. DUH! I know better than that. Thankfully it all turned out well.
It wasn't actually until I went to type the recipe up that I realized that you were meant to sift the dry ingredients together and then stir them into the wet with the milk. Lucky for me blitzing them all together with my stick blender worked well! Note to self: Read recipes more thoroughly before using them.
In any case, all was well in the end. I had a lovely banana bread that had a nice texture. You do need a really large baking loaf tin for it. I used my 9 by 5 and I was a bit afraid that it would overflow. Thank goodness it didn't. It was close though.
You may even want to bake it in two smaller loaf tins. If so then start checking it for doneness at 45 minutes.
I gave half of this loaf to my sister for them to enjoy. She really liked the texture of it as well. Do you like butter on your banana bread? Maybe it is a Maritime provinces thing, but we always like our quick breads/tea breads spread with soft butter when we eat them. Its so yummy!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BLENDER BANANA BREAD
Obviously you will need a blender or a food processor to make this. You will also need a large loaf tin (9 X 5-inches). Other than that just simple baking ingredients and really ripe bananas.
- 3 large, very ripe bananas (if your bananas are on the small side, use 4)
- 1/2 cup (120ml) flavorless vegetable oil
- 1 cup (200g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large free range eggs
- 2 tsp pure vanilla
- 2 cups (280g) plain all purpose flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (120ml) milk
The riper the banana the better it is for banana bread. Bananas get even sweeter as they ripen making them perfect for quick breads such as this one.
Soft light brown sugar is found in the baking section of the shops, usually the sugar section. It lends a lovely toffee flavor to the loaf. If I was in the U.K. I would use light muscovado sugar for even more of a toffee flavor. Brown sugar also adds to the moistness of the loaf.
If you don't have brown sugar, you can add 2 TBS of molasses to white sugar. It will give you roughly the same toffee flavor and moist texture.
I always use free range eggs and pure vanilla extract. I used avocado oil because that is what I keep in my cupboard. Canola oil works as does safflower oil, rapeseed oil, etc.
Plain flour is all purpose flour. If all you have is self raising flour, you probably could use that, but leave out the baking powder. You will still need the baking soda. I haven't done it this way myself, so I can't say for sure if you will get the same results.
HOW TO MAKE BLENDER BANANA BREAD
Just pop your ingredients into a blender or food processor and blitz away. If you are a person who doesn't favor chunks of banana in your banana bread, this is the ideal recipe for you!
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 by 5-inch loaf tin really well, line with baking paper, leaving an overhang for ease of lifting the loaf out of the pan when done.Put the bananas, oil, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla into a blender. Blitz together until smooth.Sift the flour, soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together until thoroughly combined.Add to the banana mixture along with the milk. Blitz a couple of times to thoroughly combine, until smooth, scraping down the sides. Try not to overmix.Alternately you can add the wet ingredients to the dry in the bowl along with the milk and mix to combine well.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top.Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes. It will be done when well risen, golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few moist crumbs.Leave to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before lifting out onto a wire rack to cool completely.Cut into slices to serve, with or without softened butter for spreading.
I am not usually very fond of the flavor of cinnamon in a Banana bread. The two flavors usually don't work for me, but I did not find the cinnamon in this loaf to be overwhelming. This bread was lovely and dense and rich with a tight crumb.
It was beautiful enjoyed thinly spread, spread with soft butter, alongside a hot cup of lemon and ginger tea. It is also very nice toasted and spread with butter. If you have never toasted banana bread in the toaster or toaster oven, that's something you really need to try! It's amazing!
We have always loved these quick breads, or sweet loaves. I can remember my mother baking them for lady's luncheons, and tea parties. I have quite a few recipes on here for them. Here are a couple of my favorite ones!
ELIZABETH'S DATE & NUT BREAD - This was my late mother-in-law's recipe for a lovely date and walnut loaf. Studded generously with both sticky dates and toasted walnuts, it always goes down a real treat with a hot cup of tea. We do like to spread butter on our quick breads. Not a necessity, but very nice!
CHEESE AND PEPPER BREAD - Not all quick breads are sweet. We have also baked a few savory ones here on The English Kitchen. This one is a real favorite! It is loaded to the hilt with lots of rich cheese and bits of black pepper. Its lovely served warm and spread with butter, alongside of salads, soups, stews, etc. It is also nice served with some butter and apple jelly. Let's be honest, its just plain nice however you choose to serve it!
Yield: One 9 X 5-inch loafAuthor: Marie Rayner
Blender Banana Bread
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 60 MinTotal time: 1 H & 10 MDense, moist and delicious. Very easily made. Just blitz everything together in a blender or food processor, pour into the prepared pan and bake!Ingredients
- 3 large, very ripe bananas (if your bananas are on the small side, use 4)
- 1/2 cup (120ml) flavorless vegetable oil
- 1 cup (200g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large free range eggs
- 2 tsp pure vanilla
- 2 cups (280g) plain all purpose flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (120ml) milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 by 5-inch loaf tin really well, line with baking paper, leaving an overhang for ease of lifting the loaf out of the pan when done.
- Put the bananas, oil, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla into a blender. Blitz together until smooth.
- Sift the flour, soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together until thoroughly combined.
- Add to the banana mixture along with the milk. Blitz a couple of times to thoroughly combine, until smooth, scraping down the sides. Try not to overmix.
- Alternately you can add the wet ingredients to the dry in the bowl along with the milk and mix to combine well.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes. It will be done when well risen, golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few moist crumbs.
- Leave to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before lifting out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cut into slices to serve, with or without softened butter for spreading.
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