Banana Bread with Crunchy Streusel Topping

Over the weekend, a gal named Irene came to NYC. You've heard of her right? She was supposed to come in and swoop us off our feet, but for us she was all bark and no bite. Don't get me wrong, there was massive flooding throughout the city and some houses were wrecked, but our apartment was fine. I did manage to find a leak in the kitchen window we need to get fixed. I'm actually not sure if the crack was a result of the earthquake or not, since I've never noticed a leak before.

Well, since we weren't able to go out, I decided to bake. I had 6 ripe bananas, and no room in the freezer, so banana bread it was! I've made banana bread before, but it was a while ago. It only called for 3 bananas, so I found this one in the BHG Cookbook. I love this cookbook, and I should use it more often. It's a great all around cookbook.

I omitted the walnuts in this recipe, since I didn't have it on hand, but if you have them, I would put it in. I probably won't next time either, because after I finished baking, Gary told me that he doesn't like nuts in his bread. Who knew! You would think that after 10 years together, I would have known something like that! I also replaced some white sugar with brown sugar, and reduced the overall amount by 1/4 cup. It was perfect for me, but Gary thought it could be sweeter.

I love that I was able to whip this up without bring out the stand mixer. Overall, this stayed moist and delicious even after a few days. I stored it in a plastic ziptop bag, but the streusel ended up soggy. If you know how to keep it and keep the crunchy top, let me know!

---

Banana Bread with Crunchy Streusel Topping
adapted from Better Homes and Garden Cookbook 14th Edition

ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 TBSP all purpose flour
2 TBSP cold butter (I used Earth Balance coconut spread)
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour a 9x5 pan.

In a large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients (flour through nutmeg). Make a well in the middle of the bowl for the wet ingredients and set aside.

In another medium bowl, whisk 2 eggs, then add wet ingredients (banana through oil) and mix well. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir well until just incorporated. Batter will be lumpy. Pour batter into prepared pan.

To make the streusel, combine the brown sugar and flour in a small bowl. Using a fork or pastry blender, cut in the cold butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Sprinkle mixture over the top of the batter.

Bake in preheated oven for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

---

Pin It