Banana Bread

Alex Lau for Bon Appétit

from bonappetit.com via Jasper Collins

submitted by Marilyn and Richard Lonergan

makes one 8½ x 4½" loaf

        nonstick vegetable oil spray

        1½ cups all-purpose flour

        1¼ teaspoons baking soda

        ¾ teaspoon kosher salt

        1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

        ⅓ cup mascarpone, plain whole-milk Greek yogurt, or sour cream

        ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

        2 large eggs

        4 large very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1½ cups)

        ½ cup chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (optional)

        ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a generous overhang on long sides. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and salt.

Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat brown sugar, mascarpone, and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend after each addition and scraping down sides and bottom of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas and mix just until combined. Fold in chocolate and/or walnuts, if using. Scrape batter into prepared pan; smooth top.

Bake bread until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let bread cool in pan 1 hour. Turn out bread and let cool completely (if you can resist) before slicing.

At Bon Appetit everybody has a favorite banana bread recipe. BA made every one—14 to be exact—until they came up with the collective favorite. Dark brown sugar was key, and a dollop of mascarpone maked for superior tenderness. Walnuts are optional but encouraged. Jasper (Marilyn’s grandson) found that the chocolate shouldn’t be optional.