From the Pantry: Brown bananas are perfect for banana bread

I am a bit of a banana fiend. Instead of an apple a day, I eat a banana a day.

When I was pregnant with my second child, I averaged two bananas a day. Monkey jokes welcomed. But even as loyal to bananas as I am, I still often find myself with overripe bananas that are best mashed and put into baked goods than eaten straight from the peel.

After being out of town recently, I came home to five speckled bananas. While I should have dealt with them straight away, I ignored them in favor of unpacking and organizing. The bananas languished on the counter getting ever more speckled, until I happened to read an article about make-ahead recipes for Thanksgiving. The article featured Banana Banana Bread, which called for exactly five overripe bananas. Even I couldn't ignore that sign. It seemed this recipe was made just for me.

I certainly had my reservations about this recipe - for one, five bananas is A LOT - almost double what most recipes require. I was worried it would make for a loaf that was too wet. Secondly, it called for butter in stick form, not melted butter or oil, which is also the typical form of fat in fruit bread recipes. I certainly didn't think it would make for an inferior flavor, but it did require me to pull out my mixer instead of being able to rely on a spatula only. I figured the because it made use of all five of my bananas, I could make an exception for extra cleanup.

This banana loaf definitely touts its banana flavor, but not overwhelmingly so. The extra bananas actually add a lightness to the loaf making it almost spongelike. But maybe my favorite part of this recipe is the cinnamon, sugar and nut topping. It not only makes for a beautiful-looking loaf but adds a welcome crunch to the soft texture. So, if you ever needed an excuse to let your bananas go brown (and in fact the browner the better), you now have it.

Banana Banana Bread

For the bread

1/4 pound (one stick) room temperature butter, more for greasing pan

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups (about 5) ripe bananas

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping

1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1 tablespoon granulated or coarse sugar

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Using electric mixer, cream butter until smooth and fluffy. Add sugar and cream together 2 minutes more. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla. Mix in bananas until only small lumps remain.

Stir dry ingredients together and mix into banana mixture just until combined. Pour into pan. Mix topping ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle on top.

Bake for about 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack and let cool completely.

Source: The New York Times