Brown Butter Banana Bread with a Crackly Sugar Top

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The banana bread that tastes like it came from a good bakery case: butter cooked to hazelnut brown, bananas so far gone they're nearly black, dark brown sugar for molasses depth, and a thick shower of turbinado that bakes into a shattery lid. A short batter rest hydrates the flour so the crumb stays custardy at the center for days.

Ingredients

• 10 tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 very ripe bananas, heavily spotted to black (about 1 1/2 cups mashed)
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup full-fat sour cream or plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (220 g)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

• 1 small ripe banana, halved lengthwise (optional)
• 3 tbsp turbinado or demerara sugar
• 1 tbsp melted butter, for brushing
• flaky sea salt, for finishing

Instructions

1. Brown the butter: melt the 10 tablespoons in a light-colored skillet or small saucepan over medium heat. It will foam, then quiet down; swirl often and cook 4 to 6 minutes, until the milk solids at the bottom are chestnut brown and it smells like toasted nuts. Immediately scrape everything, browned bits included, into a large heatproof bowl and let cool 10 minutes.
2. Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the lower third. Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan and line it with a parchment sling that overhangs the long sides.
3. Mash the 4 ripe bananas in a bowl with a fork until mostly smooth with a few small lumps — you want about 1 1/2 cups. Don't puree them; a little texture keeps the loaf from going gummy.
4. Whisk the dark brown sugar into the warm brown butter until it looks like wet sand, about 30 seconds. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, beating 20 seconds after each, then the sour cream and vanilla. The mixture should be glossy and smooth. Stir in the mashed bananas.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add to the wet ingredients and fold with a spatula just until no dry flour remains, 10 to 15 strokes. Stop while it still looks slightly rough.
6. Let the batter rest in the bowl 20 minutes at room temperature. It will thicken noticeably as the flour hydrates — this is what gives you a tall, custardy crumb instead of a dense one.
7. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Lay the two banana halves cut side up down the length of the loaf if using, pressing them in gently. Brush the top with the melted butter, then scatter the turbinado sugar evenly and generously all the way to the edges.
8. Bake 60 to 70 minutes, until the top is deeply domed and cracked, a skewer inserted in the center comes out with only moist crumbs, and the center registers 205 to 210°F. If the top is browning fast at 45 minutes, tent loosely with foil.
9. Cool in the pan on a rack for 20 minutes, then lift out by the parchment and cool at least 1 more hour before slicing — the crumb is still setting. Finish with a pinch of flaky salt and cut thick slices with a serrated knife.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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