Cinnamon Banana Bread

Moist and delicious cinnamon banana bread packed full of banana flavour. No matter how you like your banana bread this one is for you!

I’ve gotten a lot of recipes up on this blog and I realised that I was missing a lot of the classics. A good banana bread recipe is essential to have in your back pocket because you never know when you’re gonna have over-ripe bananas. Plus it just tastes so good!

There are so many banana bread recipes out there so it’s hard to find the perfect one for you. I like my banana bread packed full of banana flavour, moist, tender and with a hint of cinnamon. Trust me I’ve made my fair share of banana bread recipes in my life and this is the one!

Ingredients you need

Because banana bread is so simple the final result largely depends on the ingredients used.

• Plain flour: Any flour will work!
• Baking powder and baking soda: both of these are needed to give the bread rise
• Salt: You can’t forget salt when making banana bread! This helps to balance out the sweetness.
• Brown sugar: Brown sugar is important for flavour and moisture. The slightly caramelised flavour of brown sugar gives the banana bread a deeper flavour.

• White sugar: White sugar brings extra sweetness and improves the texture. White sugar plays a role in lightening the crumb, resulting in a tender bread.
• Eggs: Eggs are super important in this banana bread recipe. The eggs are beat with the sugar until light and fluffy to add an extra lightness to the bread.
• Vegetable oil: I like to use vegetable oil over butter in banana bread because it doesn’t cause the bread to dry up the next day. Banana bread always tastes better the next say as it has had time to develop it’s flavours. By using oil the bread will stay moist and delicious for days!

• Greek yogurt: Another secret ingredient to perfect banana bread! Greek yogurt adds an extra layer of flavour, as well as fat to keep the texture perfect.
• Mashed banana: The star ingredient! Make sure you use ripe bananas. The riper the better!
• Vanilla extract: For extra flavour ????

Tips for the best banana bread

Follow these tips for your best ever banana bread

Use over-ripe bananas

This is something that everyone knows, but it is one of the most important tips to creating good banana bread. A ripe banana will have more flavour and moisture than a yellow or green banana, this not only affects the flavour, but also the texture.

Weigh out your bananas

Everyone’s bananas are going to be different weights and sizes, so you can’t determine the how much should be used just by a number of bananas. Too much banana can lead to a dense, mushy banana bread, and not enough will result in a light, flavourless bread. Weighing out your bananas means perfect banana bread every single time!

Beat your eggs until light and fluffy

This is my secret to the perfect texture. Most banana bread will have a dump-and-mix kind of technique, however this doesn’t add anything. By beating the eggs until they have doubled in volume you are adding extra air to your batter, resulting in a perfectly even tender crumb.

Use vegetable oil

A lot of banana bread recipe will use butter. Butter is great because it adds extra flavour, however it will dry out your banana bread.

Ever wonder why cafe-style banana bread tastes so good?

It because it’s not fresh! Banana bread should sit for a couple of days to develop the best flavour and texture, but if you use butter it’ll just dry out as it sits. Oil keeps moisture in for the perfect moist and tender crumb.

Don’t overbake!

The bread is ready when a toothpick emerges with a few moist crumbs. Don’t wait until the toothpick comes out clean because by that time the bread is already over-baked, and you don’t want dry banana bread!

Cinnamon Banana Bread

Print Recipe

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5 from 4 reviews

• Author: Catherine Zhang
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 70
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: 1 loaf cake 1x
• Category: Bread
• Method: Easy
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

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• 220g Plain flour (1 3/4 + 1 tbsp) flour
• 2 tsp Baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 90g Brown sugar (1/2 cup)
• 100g White sugar (1/2 cup)
• 2 eggs
• 110g Vegetable oil (1/2 cup)
• 35g Greek yoghurt (2 tbsp)
• 300g Mashed banana (approx. 3 medium bananas)
• 1 tbsp Ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 160C
2. Grease a standard 23cm x 13cm / 9″ x 5″ loaf tin
3. Combine brown sugar, white sugar and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment
4. Beat on medium-high for 8-10 minutes, until fluffy and doubled in volume
5. Add the oil, yoghurt and vanilla extract, mix until just combined
6. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into the egg mixture
7. Mix on low speed until just combined
8. Fold in the mashed banana until just combined
9. Transfer into the greased loaf tin and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick emerges with a few moist crumbs

Catherine Zhang

My name is Catherine, a food blogger and dessert lover. If I look familiar you may have seen me on NETFLIX's Zumbo’s Just Desserts S2! As an Australian-Chinese pastry chef and recipe developer I share recipes and tips on desserts inspired by amazing flavours, fresh produce and of course my Asian background.

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