You should know by now that I do not like bananas. However, my one banana exception is for banana bread and it’s funny that my most popular recipe is for banana bread. But I think I’ve found a match for the ever-delicious chocolate-chip laden and cinnamon-sugared crunch of the UBC cake. This one doesn’t have chocolate or a heavy hand when it comes to spices, but that’s not to say it is without kick. A nice glug of rum makes this bread even tempered but with a little bit of the crazy-eye. And every good cake needs a bit of crazy.
I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen particularly appealing since I had 3 very brown bananas tucked into the freezer. She adapted her recipe from another food blogger and I have adapted hers based on what I had around the kitchen. I didn’t have a bottle of Wild Turkey laying about, so I subbed in some Jamaican amber rum and pecans for crunch. It’s easy, delicious and I can’t wait until I have a few more big bad bananas around so that I can mash them into submission for this cake. Scrumptious with fresh berries sprinkled about, or as my husband prefers, smeared with unsalted butter. It’s good for an evening snack and even better for breakfast.
You better believe me that I was very sad to see this last slice go. One more thing…head over to the Food Network Canada blog to read my post on the Alibi Room. Finally, beer lovers in Vancouver have a place to revel that is not my living room. Hooray!
jacked-up banana bread
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 c melted Earth Balance margarine (but any light flavored oil or butter should do)
3/4 c lightly packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 t vanilla
1 T rum
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
1 t baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/2 c of flour
1/2 c chopped pecansPreheat oven to 350. Mash up your bananas and then add in the melted margarine and brown sugar. Mix about with a wooden spoon until well combined and then toss in the egg, rum and the rest of the spices. Add the baking powder and a pinch of salt and combine. Add the flour and then finally the pecans and pour batter into a lightly oiled loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour or until cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven. When cooled slightly, remove from pan and put on rack to cool completely. Or just dive in when ready.
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I’m glad that you made this version of banana bread, despite the fact that you normally don’t care for the fruit – looks great!! I just posted about a banana bread too :0)
Mmm looks good. There’s a banana bread recipe I’ve wanted to try for a long time that has raisins soaked in rum.
Yum… I love banana bread! Looks great! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Interesting post. You dislike bananas but enjoy banana bread…Perhaps I would like turnips more if they were incorporated into a cake or bread format…
I don’t have any hard stuff in the house…hubbie is a beer drinker and I’m an occasional white wine sipper…what if I were to use an ample amount of vanilla extract? LOL
I just thought of another name for this banana bread post “Bad, bad Leroy Brown”…the song just popped in my head when I was reading this …never mind…just being silly!
I’m the same way about bananas. Not a big fan of them raw, hate anything artificially banana flavoured, but love them in baked goods. I highly recommend the ‘Roast Banana-Pumpkin Breakfast Bread Recipe’ over at 101 cookbooks for a differt take on banana bread.
I’m psyched you posted about banana bread! Since living on my own I find my apartment being taken over by mushy bananas. I can never seem to finish an entire bunch before a few go bad. I’ve got a plentiful supply of ripe bananas stored in my freezer, and now I finally have something new to do with them!
holy cow that sounds good!!! We are rarely left with brown bananas, my daughter and hubby eat them up, so I’ll have to buy extra and hide them(I’ll have to make a note, or just follow the fruit flies in a few weeks).
I made your marinated veggie salad over the weekend and it was a huge hit, especially with my 15-yr-old son! He, of the plain baked potato taste buds, was very disappointed to learn that I had eaten the last spoonfuls with my Sunday sandwich. It will become a regular weekend recipe at our house!!
Wow, jacked-up banana bread… I love it! Sounds and look yummy. I especially love the fresh berries as garnish!
It looks awesome!!! I found the other banana bread recipe you posted a while ago and Im gonna try that since I have most of the ingdnts around. Yummy!!!! Cheerio!
This looks delish and serving it with berries won my heart!
You have such a beautiful blog. I left a comment ages ago but feel like I should pop up again. So proud to see a Vancouverite in the blog community. Van is my home and I love to see you rep it. I am living in NYC right now though. It would be cool if you could put some shots of our city in your blog or post more about your meals out of the house.
But I love what you are doing already!
your version looks good too, veggiegirl!
raisins in banana bread? could be a good thing, eatme!
thanks helios, it’s delicious.
hag, these aren’t the berries we picked sunday, but they were delicious!
bijoux, you could use some earl grey or chai tea instead or some fruit juice. if you are a little adventurous, you might even include a fruity or chocolately stout! or just toss in another banana.
anon, thanks for the tip and glad to know i’m not the only freak out there!
ventures, enjoy! this really is a pretty killer recipe.
yes, she sure is strange, hide them! glad you liked the salad…i’m especially happy it was teenage boy friendly 🙂
both are good, elfin….try both 🙂
thanks patricia! berries are the best!
thanks lauren, glad you are enjoying my blog! i do post about restaurants and other vancouver food related events at the food network canada site. so keep out an eye for that!
I’ve always got over ripe banana’s needing to be used – this will make a nice change to muffins!
i am very particular about my bananas, and generally do not like them either. unless of course they are incorporated into a baked good or made into something like a smoothie. Anyway, this looks nice. A good version.
hmmmm that sounds awesome!!! i love your blog lol
We’d like to invite you to participate in our July berry recipe contest. All competitors will be placed on our blogroll, and the winner will receive a fun prize! Please email me, [email protected], if you’re interested. Feel free to check out our blog for more details. (Click on my name in the message header link to visit our blog. 🙂
Really doesn’t “A nice glug of rum” go with everything?
ahh.. perfect! I have some brownish bananas that are screaming for me to make some jacked up bread 🙂
Love your site by the way!!
Great recipe! I replaced the white flour with wheat flour and substituted 1/2 cup agave nectar for the brown sugar. I had to reduce the oven temp to 325 because of the agave. It came out super moist and delicious. Love your blog.
thanks haley!
beth, give this a try, your bananas will thank you for it!
oh yeah, eb, definitely.
cookinpanda, i’m sure you’ll love this version…i did!
thanks jenn!
thanks kiki, enjoy 🙂
glad it worked out for you jess, especially with all your uber-healthy adjustments!
I love your UBC cake! I found the recipe on Orangette and traced it back to you, so thanks for the delicious recipe! I like eating it with a generous dollop of yogurt on top for a sweet/tart mouthful of cake and yogurt.
“A little bit of the crazy-eye.” Hilarious! I’ve never made a boozy banana bread. Your version sounds like a good way to fix this oversight.
rosiecat, glad you enjoyed the ubc cake. and with yogurt? i’ll definitely try it out next time i make it. oh yeah, this banana bread is delicious indeed! enjoy, crazy eyes and all 🙂
Can i use other type of hard liquor as substitute for rum. I have brandy and maybe gin/vodka, would any of those work?
lazycook, I would sub in brandy. Otherwise, just use extra vanilla extract.
I have tried different bread recipes for my ripe bananas, and they always came out the same, despite different ingredients (dairy, maple syrup etc). I came across this recipe by chance. By mistake I added cloves instead of nutmeg, I did not have candied ginger, so I grated some fresh one. The addition of rum and spices is brilliant. The most different banana bread I have made to date. I made it last week, and are had requests for it again..so it is in the oven again as I am writing this post. This time I have candied ginger and dates added too. Thanks!
sweet moses i can’t wait til this comes out of the oven!! i clicked back and forth between this jacked up bread and the cocoa-coconut one… yanking both of them around a little bit- and shut my mouth, it’s in the oven right now!!! i will give props to you, as well as smitten kitchen (i follow you both) as i saw you tweaked her’s first. i’ll be blogging this tonight on http://www.hotboxhipster.com xo yo!