Brown Butter Banana Bread with a Caramelized Banana Top

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A dessert-serious banana bread: the butter is browned until it smells like toasted hazelnuts, the batter gets dark brown sugar and sour cream for a moist, almost pudding-soft crumb, and a split banana pressed into the top bakes down into a glossy, caramelized lid under a crust of turbinado sugar. Bake it in the afternoon, serve thick slices warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and it eats like a plated bakery dessert instead of a breakfast loaf.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (180 g), spooned and leveled
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

• 8 tbsp unsalted butter (113 g)
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar (100 g)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar (67 g)
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup full-fat sour cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups mashed very ripe banana (about 3 large, 320 g)
• 3/4 cup toasted walnuts or chopped dark chocolate, optional

• 1 medium ripe but firm banana
• 2 tbsp turbinado or demerara sugar
• 1 tsp unsalted butter, melted
• flaky sea salt, for finishing

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the lower third. Grease a 9x5-inch metal loaf pan and line it with a strip of parchment that hangs over the two long sides.
2. Brown the butter: melt the 8 tablespoons in a light-colored skillet or small saucepan over medium heat. Swirl often; after 4 to 6 minutes the foam will subside, the milk solids will turn amber, and it will smell nutty. Immediately scrape everything, browned bits included, into a large heatproof bowl and let it cool 5 to 10 minutes until just warm, not hot. You should have about 1/2 cup; if it looks short, whisk in 1 tablespoon fresh melted butter.
3. Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl and set aside.
4. Add both sugars to the warm brown butter and whisk hard for 30 seconds until glossy and sandy. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then the sour cream and vanilla, until the mixture is smooth and slightly thickened.
5. Mash the 3 very ripe bananas with a fork until mostly smooth with a few small lumps, then whisk them into the wet mixture. The batter will look loose and speckled.
6. Add the dry ingredients and fold with a flexible spatula just until no dry streaks remain, about 15 to 20 strokes; stop while it still looks slightly rough. Fold in the walnuts or chocolate if using. Scrape into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
7. Peel the remaining banana, halve it lengthwise, and lay the two halves cut side up on the batter, pressing them in just enough to seat them. Brush with the 1 teaspoon melted butter and scatter the turbinado sugar over the whole surface.
8. Bake 60 to 70 minutes, rotating the pan at the 40-minute mark. If the top is deeply browned by minute 45, tent loosely with foil. The loaf is done when a skewer inserted in the center comes out with only moist crumbs and an instant-read thermometer reads 205° to 210°F.
9. Cool in the pan on a rack for 20 minutes, then lift out using the parchment sling and cool on the rack at least 1 hour before slicing; the crumb finishes setting as it cools. Finish the caramelized top with a pinch of flaky salt.
10. Slice thick with a serrated knife. For dessert service, warm slices 10 seconds in the microwave or 5 minutes in a 300°F oven and serve with vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened crème fraîche.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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