You may not know the name Dominique Ansel, but you've probably heard of his most famous creation. Dominique Ansel invented the "Cronut", a cross between a doughnut and a croissant. Prior to the Cronut, Ansel was known for The DKA, a flaky, buttery pastry about the size of a muffin. I actually prefer the DKA (Dominique's Kouign Amann) to the Cronut. The DKA is less sweet and has a flakier texture. Here's a picture of my latest.
Fancy French pastries aside, it recently came to my attention that there is a Dominique Ansel Banana Bread. So even though I have at least 900 other banana bread recipes, I had to try Dominique Ansel's take on this American favorite.
It's good! With 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of flour, its proportions are a little different than other banana bread recipes. And it's very sweet! Also, it doesn't rise high or dome, yet it still has a uniform and not-too-crumbly texture, so it slices neatly. And finally, it doesn't call for vanilla, so the flavor you get is a a pretty clean mix of banana and nutmeg.
You can make it as one large banana bread, or if you have about 6 mini loaf pans, you can make a bunch and share with friends.
I'd make this one again for a tea or an event where it's going to be served alongside other sweets. For breakfast, I'd probably choose a less sweet recipe. But this one's definitely good and worth a try!
Recipe
Dominique Ansel's Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar 400 grams
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 270 grams
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 4 overripe bananas mashed (480 grams)
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Grease a 10x5x3 ½ inch loaf pan (see note regarding other sizes).
- In one bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, then stir in the mashed bananas.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix together until just combined.
- Stir in the melted butter until fully incorporated.
- Pour the batter into prepared pan (or pans) and bake until a skewer or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
- Let cool completely before slicing.
Melanie says
Made this Banana Bread recipe twice now. I love it!!! My family & friends love it too! Don’t let the 2 cups of Sugar intimidate you. It is NOT making the bread too sweet. In fact it has just the perfect sweetness. If u want, you can substitute part of the sugar with equal amount of Coco sugar. That is what I did. The bread tasted devine! I was not loving the Nutmeg in it though. The 2nd time around, I sub the Nutmeg with Cinnamon. I loved how the it tasted with Cinnamon more :).
Maria @ kitchenathoskins says
Dominique is a genius! 2 cups of sugar might be a little too much for banana bread, but I bet this is divine! You have done a wonderful job with this banana bread
CakeSpy says
Everything D-A touches turns to pastry gold in my book. Therefore, this must be a great banana bread!
Sonya says
Mmmmm, would love to try the DKA, the cronut, and the banana bread 🙂
joan says
The DKA stands for Dominique's Kouign Amann. They are amazing. I agree, that they are better than cronuts. I stood in line for about an hour once when I was in NYC just to get a cronut. It was very good, but the DKA was divine! And, no need to stand in that long line.....
Anna says
Sue. maybe K is his middle initial?
Sue says
Is DKA an abbreviation for something? I haven't heard of this out on the frozen tundra of the upper Midwest. 🙂
I used to have a favorite banana bread and now Ive tried so many many I don't know what my favorite is anymore. No doubt I'd like this.