This twist on classic banana bread is sure to become your new favorite! Ripe bananas are quickly caramelized in brown sugar on the stovetop before adding to the batter, creating a moist, flavorful bread. The rich caramel flavors are intensified by a sweet browned butter glaze that takes this bread over the top!
Ingredient Notes
- Bananas – You’ll want your bananas to be nice and ripe, but not squishy like with other banana breads. The peels should have some brown spots, but not be all the way brown. This way, the fruit will hold up well to caramelizing.
- Dark Brown Sugar – Dark brown sugar adds more depth to your caramel flavor. In a pinch, any brown sugar will do.
- Butter – Unless you have a dietary restriction, use real butter. Butter substitutes can affect the texture of the bread and will not brown appropriately for the brown butter glaze.
Instructions
- First prep a loaf pan by lining a loaf pan with parchment or spraying with nonstick spray and set aside. Slice up some bananas and set those aside, too.
- Next melt some butter on the stovetop, add the bananas and brown sugar, and sauté until nice and caramelized. Allow to cool, and then transfer to the bowl of an electric stand mixer and beat until smooth. It’s normal for it to still have small chunks of banana in there.
- In a large liquid measuring cup, combine buttermilk, oil, vanilla extract, and eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Beginning and ending with the flour mixture, alternate adding the wet and dry ingredients to the mixing bowl, mixing at low speed until just combined.
- Pour the batter into your preapared loaf pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, and then remove the loaf from the pan and allow the loaf to cool all the way on a cooling rack.
- To prepare the glaze, melt a little butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes, until it begins to get brown and fragrant. (Careful…things can go south REALLY quickly. Be sure to remove from heat as soon as it starts to get brown.) Whisk in some powdered sugar and milk or half and half, drizzle over the cooled banana bread and allow the glaze to set before slicing.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make this ahead of time? Feel free to bake your bread a day ahead of time. Cover tightly in plastic wrap and store on the counter. Prepare the glaze fresh, and allow enough time before serving to allow the glaze to cool and harden.
Related Recipes
Have bananas on the brain? Check out some other favorite banana recipes:
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Caramelized Banana Bread with Browned Butter Glaze
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf
Description
Sweet banana bread with caramelized bananas in a rich, brown butter glaze.
Ingredients
Banana Bread
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 medium ripe bananas (about 120g each, without the peels)
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
9 ounces (about 2 cups) all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Glaze
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-2 teaspoons milk or half and half
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9×5″ loaf pan with parchment or spray with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
Slice the bananas. Set aside.
Over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add the sliced bananas and brown sugar and sauté for about 4 minutes, stirring frequently. The sugar should turn into a light caramel and come to a mild simmer. It’s okay for the bananas to get broken up a bit as you stir. Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes.
Place the banana mixture in a large bowl or the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Beat on medium speed until mostly smooth- it’s normal to still have some banana pieces.
In a large measuring glass, combine the buttermilk, oil, vanilla and eggs and whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Beginning and ending with the flour mixture, alternately add it to the banana mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until golden brown on top and a pick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it. Cool for 10 minutes and then remove the bread from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
To prepare the glaze, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan or skillet over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes or until it begins to get brown specks in it and smells nutty and fragrant. Whisk in the powdered sugar and use a tiny bit of milk if needed to get smooth consistency. Drizzle over the bread when it’s just barely warm. Slice and serve.
- Prep Time: 15minutes
- Cook Time: 45-60 minutes
Don’t forget! We’ve got a couple of book signings this weekend:
Boise, Idaho: Saturday September 22, 11:30am-1pm.
Deseret Book Store, Boise Idaho (that’s the store on Overland, not Eagle Road)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Friday September 21, 7 pm.
Barnes and Noble 7707 Bluebonnet Blvd, Baton Rouge
Questions & Reviews
I love banana bread and loved seeing you guys in Dener!
Ha ha when I first looked at this I was in a bit of a hurry so I scrolled down without reading to see what was in the ingredients. The first picture I thought was the ingredients and was like what the heck!! When I had more time I actually read the post. Thought is was funny though.
I was so excited when I glanced at the recipe title, quickly scrolled down and saw the picture with oreos. I thought, wow I never would’ve thought of oreos in banana bread but oreos make everything better and I love all of your recipes so it must be delicious! Imagine my disappointment when I actually read the post and realized no oreos in the bread:) That’s what I get for not reading it to begin with. Oh well, I will definitely still make the bread!
I now understand why you were holding back smiles at TOFW. You were great, and your baby is adorable. Glad you made it home without any more unwanted excitement.
so making this!
i HATE bananas (I rarely use the word hate) but LOVE banana bread~
I buy bananas to let them blacken so I can freeze them and save them for a baking day.
thanks for the inspiration to change up my everyday~
I’m going to the store to buy some bananas just to hide them from my boys so they get ripe enough to make this. Think it will work in muffin form?
Seriously, I just ate a piece of banana bread when I read this post! This looks like a good recipe though, I might have to put grandma’s banana bread recipe away for a bit to try it! (I don’t think grandma would’ve minded!) I also like the “ha” at the end too! Who wants a paper-thin slice of banana bread? Not me!!
I was literally groaning and gasping as I read about your trip. Lost luggage? A chipped tooth?! (what were you eating?!) What a nightmare, but at least you seem to find some comedy in it. After the fact at least. I think both you gals are amazing for balancing all the things you do. And for bringing such delicious food into so many homes. Figuratively speaking, of course. 🙂 I just made your banana pecan muffins yesterday, and I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Yum! Did you use the rum, rum extract or vanilla extract in the bread? I have 3 frozen bananas that I have been wanting to use up for banana bread- thanks for the awesome recipe :0)
I used vanilla. I’m not a huge fan of the flavor of rum, so I skipped it, but I can see how it would be kind of bananas foster-y. 🙂
Making it today – I have rum leftover from a dish I made awhile back – so I might use it. Or I might do the vanilla. All I know is I’m super excited to make it (I had a rough week, but nothing in comparison to your travel experience…)!
The banana bread looks over-the-top delicious. And your trip, well… it is amazing how before we had kids we thought we knew what stress was. And then we had one kid so that we could learn how easy we had it when we had no kids. And then we have a second so that we can learn how easy it was when we only had one kid… and so on. 🙂 Feelin’ for ya.
Oh man! I just used all our ripe bananas yesterday to make banana bread! Guess I’ll have to wait till the next ones get ripe to try this recipe! It looks really yummy!
That is an out of this world travel story…bad things come in three’s right? So hopefully, the bad luck is over. Can’t wait to make this banana bread.
You *broke* your front tooth??? How did you manage the logistics of that? I mean, that’s crazy anytime, but while traveling, it has got to be a nightmare.
It was awesome. I was eating a super crunchy, thin-crust pizza and I overestimated the amount of force I needed to bite through it. The kicker is that I can’t get into the dentist until tomorrow, so I’ve been trying to keep my mouth closed, less someone think I’m the crazy snaggletoothed woman… 🙂
Oh, that’s how. Bummer! 🙁 Okay – disregard my question.
Oh, man. I’m so sorry for the headache and trouble. For what it’s worth, I often wonder how you both “do it all!” Seriously. A family and a business. It’s enough to make dinner, let alone blog about it and take pictures along the way. Your work is appreciated! (P.s. making tuna noodle casserole from the new cookbook tonight)
Speaking of bananas…read the reviews on this banana slicer sold on Amazon.com. It will make you forget your traveling woes. Seriously funny stuff!
http://www.amazon.com/Victorio-Kitchen-Products-Banana-Slicer/dp/B001F5STWU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1348086697&sr=8-2&keywords=banana+slicer
Love you guys!! Loving the potato leek soup from the new book. And love your coconut lime banana bread so much … Don’t know if I can break away!! I’m blown away by your talent … And real life stories 🙂
Ironically I was just looking for a banana bread recipe here on Sunday. Thank you for the inspiration.
Oh my heavens!! I can’t believe your travel story!! And with a newborn?! Seriously, how did you even begin to keep your sanity? I’m amazed.
Oh, and this banana bread looks awesome. I was a little hesitant when I saw that it was “just a banana bread” recipe that was posted for today but was pleasantly surprised! I love the twist on it with the caramelized bananas. Yum!
Wow Kate, what an adventure you had with your little guy. I’m glad you made it home safe and sound. That banana bread looks amazing!
What an adventure travel is at times…This Banana Bread looks so good..I’m going to go get some bananas in just a little while…thanks for sharing. Oh, and by the way, my new book did have some sticky pages—but, sorry, there’s no way I’m taking it back–I just “unstuck” them and it’s fine—I don’t want to be without it for one minute while they work on getting me another…hee, hee…thanks so much!!!
OHhhhhhh! I’m going to have to try this recipe! It’s a must! I’ve even got a ton of ripe bananas sitting on my counter! xoxo
Im glad you just post this. I have some over ripe bananas that i keep saying i need to make banana bread with. Well i will be making this TONITE!!
Oh my…I’m glad you made it home in one piece. Sounds like you had an adventure! I <3 banana bread. Your post, my dear, looks amazing.
I made your chocolate zucchini bread a few weeks ago, and while I have a favorite banana bread recipe already…well…let’s just say that I TOTALLY TRUST you and will make this for my family (it can’t hurt that this has WAY less oil and sugar in it–also I only have three bananas and my recipe needs six!) LOVE the idea of a brown butter glaze, THANK YOU for posting in spite of your terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week!!
I am a banana bread fiend, and love this idea. Will totally try this recipe with my next batch of forlorn bananas 🙂
Yum! I just made your chocolate swirl version a few weeks ago and have been thinking about it ever since!
Oh, you poor thing! Whenever I see a picture of you guys I always think “I bet they never could have imagined all of this when they first started out!” I am sure that you have been stretched and blessed farther than you ever thought! Congratulations, I just got my copy!
I’m so sorry you had all of those misfortunes!!! What a way to spend a few days. 🙂 Glad you made it home safe with your litte one. Flying with a newborn alone would have put me over the edge. You go girl. 🙂 Hope you enjoy a much calmer week. It was so fun to meet both of you gals at the book signing the other day. It’s such a beautiful book. Congratulations again!
~Jamie
I totally love the (ha!) at the end of your recipe. Yup–gotta agree with you there. I’d be lucky if it lasts 16 minutes at our house!
Thankfully you made it home safely, and now can catch up. Life sure can throw things in our paths to challenge us.
oh yes!!!!looks delish. think this would be good for a bake sale, that will be outside?