Photograph by T. Mike Fletcher
Makes one loaf
1 cup banana puree (two large fully ripened bananas)
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups cake flour,* lightly spooned into a measuring cup
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Line the bottom of a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Spray the bottom and sides well with cooking spray. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350.
Puree the bananas in a food processor or blender. Measure 1 cup puree. If you are short add water to make 1 cup (this should be no more than a couple of tablespoons at most). Return to the processor or blender and add the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and oil. Process to blend.
In a medium size bowl, place the remaining ingredients except the walnuts. Add the liquid ingredients and whisk until combined. Add the walnuts and mix in. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Cool for about 10 minutes and turn the bread out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
The cake flour, buttermilk and oil are the keys to keeping this bread moist for days—if it lasts that long. It also freezes well.
*If you don’t bake a lot and don’t use cake flour much you can use all-purpose flour. Measure the flour, remove 2 tablespoons and replace with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.
On Bananas:
Bananas are actually one fruit that is picked green and best allowed to ripen off the tree. Produce wholesalers often have “banana rooms” where the fruit is purchased really green and then ripened in these 70-degree rooms to a yellow color with green tips. At home, left on the countertop, they will turn completely yellow and then, over a number of days, develop tiny brown specs which get more pronounced at they become fully mature as the flesh sweetens. The longer they ripen the sweeter the flesh —to a point. As the ripening continues the brown becomes more predominant and overly ripe bananas have a mushy flesh and turn brown. While they are ripening bananas should not be refrigerated. However, once ripened, they can be held for several days in the refrigerator where the skin will turn brown to black but the flesh remains firm and not mushy.
If sliced for eating, they will turn brown once exposed to the air. To prevent this, brush with lemon juice or dip in acidulated water.
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By Helen Fletcher, The Ardent Cook
