Now that my semester is nearly up and I am starting to stress more with the finals approaching, I find myself baking more to relieve some of that stress. I’ve got a couple of weeks to cram in information for 5 class finals and to write a couple more papers. Not to mention some blogging commitments that I have deadlines for and all the while keeping up with the rest of life. Typical stuff, right – but a good baking session does wonders for stress as does cooking for me. The holidays are super fast approaching and I have yet to plan anything nor have I gotten any gift list written. Instead I write down the latest recipe instructions for you. It’s a good thing.
I’ve gotten out of the habit of eating a banana with my breakfast every morning yet I still buy the same amount of bananas each grocery store trip. The result, more recipes with bananas. This Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread is amazing. Super moist, sweet enough for dessert yet perfect for breakfast with a hot cup of coffee or tea.
Ingredients
For the Cinnamon Swirl Filling:
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
For the Banana Bread:
- 1 stick butter at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 large very ripe bananas
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream or light sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
For the Glazed Topping:
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 - 2 tbsp milk
- 1/2 tsp clear vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and put a rack on the middle shelf. Butter and flour a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan.
- In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar for the cinnamon swirl filling. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In a separate small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or wooden spoon, leaving a bit of texture.
- In another large bowl, use a hand electric mixer or stand mixer to cream the 1/2 cup of butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, 1 at a time. Stir in the mashed bananas, sour cream and vanilla and beat until just combined. Add the dry ingredients and gently stir in pecans.
- Pour half the batter into prepared pan (about 2 cups).
- Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the batter in pan.
- Pour the rest of the batter over the cinnamon-sugar batter, carefully as to not mix batter with filling.
- Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling and adding the glaze.
- When banana bread is completely cooled, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla, and one tablespoon of milk. Whisk till smooth and thin enough to drizzle over bread. If glaze is too thick, add the additional tablespoon of milk (a little at a time) until it's the desired consistency.
Other delicious recipes for bananas: Perfect Banana Bread, Banana Muffins with Pecan-Crumb Topping, and Banana Bread Scones
Enjoy!
Ooooh, I am loving this recipe – especially the cinnamon swirl part!
Good luck with the rest of your semester! When I was still going to school I loved baking as a way to de stress too provided I actually got time.
I copied this recipe to try. I make banana nut bread often and this will be a nice change. – Margy
Thank you Margy! Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Hi Lisa! I’m Colleen from Bakes and Blunders (www.bakesandblunders.com), just stopping over from the Happiness is Homemade Link Party. Love this recipe! I frequently add chocolate to my banana bread (’cause chocolate, right?), but I love adding cinnamon too! My son goes through a love/ hate thing with bananas. All of a sudden, he’ll just decide to never eat them again, so I’m stuck with a whole bunch. This recipe is a great way to use them up! I’d love it if you could check out my site 🙂 I may even be contacting you soon about doing a guest post!
I hope you enjoy the bread! It’s a fav in this house. Checking out your site was easy, so many good recipes. Thank you for stopping by from HIH, too!