I don't know why it took me so long to try Brown Butter Banana Bread, but all that really matters is I did and that it's great! Or at least this version is. There are dozens of very different recipes for Brown Butter Banana Bread, but the recipe I used is from Aaron at The Hungry Hutch. I chose it because it has a high ratio of eggs, calls for a cup of dark brown sugar and doesn't use any sort of milk. In other words, the ratios were pretty different from the banana bread I usually make (Starbucks Banana Bread, as of late).
Here's the Brown Butter Banana Bread cross-section. I used White Lily flour and that may have contributed to the super soft, velvety texture of this loaf. Or maybe it was all the eggs. The texture was soft and not too crumbly.
The banana flavor wasn't quite as pronounced as in some other recipes thanks to the dark brown sugar, browned butter and spices, but for us that worked out well. My husband, who doesn't usually like bananas, thought this was good.
As for the "almond crunch" topping, it's totally optional but if you have some sliced almonds and Demerara sugar on hand the crunchy topping is a nice counterpart to the soft bread.
Recipe
Almond Crunch Brown Butter Banana Bread
Ingredients
- ½ cup 114 grams unsalted butter
- 3 large very ripe bananas 12 oz total
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 9 oz/250 grams**
- 1 cup dark brown sugar 7 oz/200 grams
- 2 teaspoons baking powder I still liked Rumford
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- Demerara sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8 ½ by 4 ½ inch metal loaf pan.
- Brown the butter in a saucepan or skillet and set it aside.
- In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork (or potato masher), then stir in the eggs.
- In a separate bowl, very thoroughly mix together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and spices. It's very important that all ingredients are evenly distributed, so take the time to really mix well.
- Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture in thirds, stirring until evenly blended.
- Pour the browned butter over the top and stir until fully blended.
- Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan, then sprinkle almonds over the top. Sprinkle sugar over the almonds.
- Bake on center rack for about 1 hour. Bread should rise up and have a nice domed top.
Notes
Anna says
Sue, it's the White Lily. We went to Nashville and I bought about 6 bags of it.
Sue says
The texture really does look soft in your photo.
Anna says
Stephanie, if it were up to Todd there'd be no banana bread at all.
Stephanie Haly says
I think Todd and I agree on our banana bread preferences. I will give this recipe a try!!!
Anna says
Mike, sorry about that. I always put asterisks and then forget to put the notes. It was just my usual warning about measuring flour properly. I almost always go by weigh these days and used 250 grams of flour. For regular all-purpose that would be around 2 cups of well stirred and aerated flour. If for some reason you are using White Lily brand, 250 grams will probably be a little more than 2 cups. Thanks for letting me know about the mysterious asterisks :). I've added the flour note.
Mike says
Before I jump in and make this great looking banana bread, can you tell me what the double asterisks mean after the 2 cups of AP flour. Thanks!
Sonya says
Mmmm, browned butter recipes have been very appealing to me lately and this sounds delicious!
Dee says
I really like your blog too! I don’t bake a lot, but I enjoy reading about it!
Anna says
Amanda, thanks so much! I am really happy to hear you keep coming back even though you don't bake. When you do bake something, let me know. Banana bread is a good starting recipe because it's almost impossible to screw up (although it can be screwed up, as I have done that). Thanks again.
Amanda says
OMG. That is spectacular. I don't know how to bake a darn thing, but I always thought if I ever could overcome my fears, then I would start with a banana bread. I clicked on your Starbuck's copy-cat recipe, but this brown butter one is just another reason I check your website practically everyday.
From a huge fan of yours--you showcase recipes and have a blog that has its own unique angle that I don't see anyone else doing. I don't know what it is, but I love what you bake.