Brown Butter Banana Bread

The warm aroma of caramelized bananas, toasty butter, and a hint of vanilla will make your kitchen smell so good. And the texture—moist, tender, and perfectly balanced between fluffy and dense. Slice it thick, slather on a little butter, and watch it disappear.

Makes one loaf

Course Dessert/Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 20

Servings

Calories 456kcal

Author Imma

Ingredients

¾ cup (170g) butter (makes about ½ cup browned butter)
2 large eggs
3 large bananas, mashed (about 1½ cups)
¾ cup (165g) packed dark brown sugar
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (60-62g) sour cream
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon (5g) baking powder
1 teaspoon (6g) baking soda
½ teaspoon (2-3g) cinnamon
½ teaspoon (2-3g) ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon (2-3g) salt

Instructions

Place the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Let it melt and continue cooking, swirling the pan occasionally until the butter turns golden brown and smells nutty (5-7 minutes). Be careful not to burn it.
Remove from heat, pour into a heatproof bowl, and let it cool slightly (5-10 minutes).
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃). Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with baking spray; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the mashed bananas, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and sour cream.
Slowly whisk in the slightly cooled brown butter until well combined.
In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 batches, gently folding until just combined, being careful not to overmix.
Pour mixture into the prepared loaf pan and top with sliced banana. Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

No sour cream on hand? Greek yogurt, plain yogurt, or buttermilk work great
While you can substitute the all-purpose flour with cake or wheat flour, the texture will be slightly different
Use overripe bananas. The riper your bananas, the sweeter and more flavorful the bread.
Test doneness early. Oven times vary, so start checking at 50 minutes
Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe

Nutrition