I’ve always loved banana bread, and this Cinnamon Maple Banana Bread recipe is one of my favorite banana bread recipes. The combination of maple and cinnamon is perfect with bananas. This recipe makes 1-loaf, but it is very easy to double. I use a combination of brown sugar and maple syrup for my banana bread recipe. Then, on top of the bread that decorate it with sliced bananas, I use a third type of sugar, turbinado. Turbinado (sugar in the raw) is my favorite for creating a crust. It’s the type of sugar I use for caramelizing Crème Brulees and is perfect for keeping the banana slices beautiful during the long baking time.
Does anything smell better than banana bread fresh out of the oven?!?
Brown Bananas are Best for Banana Bread!
The good news about brown bananas is they make the best banana bread, the softer, mushier, bruised, and darker the better. When I worked at the Four Seasons Resort, we would peel entire cases of bananas and freeze them for our enormous 30-loaf banana bread recipe! In the freezer, bananas turn into a dark brown mush, completely horrible to look at, but extremely sweet and absolutely the best bananas for making banana bread.
If you’re are not ready to make banana bread this exact minute, but your bananas are turning brown, peel them, put them in a baggy, and freeze them. When you thaw them out they will look horrible, but trust me, they are perfect for banana bread.
Butter or Oil when Baking Banana Bread?
I use melted butter in my banana bread, I prefer the taste of butter to oil, but that’s just my personal preference. When I’m cooking and I need to decide on an ingredient, I ask myself “what would you rather put in your mouth, a teaspoon of oil, or a teaspoon of butter?” If you feel that banana bread made with butter rather than oil is too dry, you can always substitute the oil for the butter, or use a combination of both.
Banana Bread Ingredients
- Bananas: What I find unusual about bananas is that the darker brown, bruised, uglier they are, the sweeter and better they are for banana bread. I like to peel old bananas and freeze them until I’m ready to make this recipe. They are even better after they are frozen and thawed.
- Sugar: I use a combination of brown sugar, maple syrup, and turbinado sugars in my maple banana bread recipe. It isn’t overly sweet, it’s just a great mix that works perfectly with bananas. I sprinkle the top of the banana bread with turbinado just before baking to help the decorative bananas on top caramelize.
- Eggs and Butter: Very traditional baking ingredients. They add richness to the banana bread. One thing I like that might be new to you is European-style butter. It is what butter should taste like and I use it for all my baking recipes.
- All-Purpose Flour and Baking Powder: Again, very traditional baking ingredients. However, If you prefer gluten-free banana bread, you can substitute almond flour 1:1 for all-purpose flour. The only change I would make with almond flour is to add one additional egg to the banana bread recipe to help make up for the lack of gluten.
- Cinnamon and Vanilla Extract: Good quality spices make all the difference when baking cinnamon banana bread. Please don’t use imitation vanilla. A quick Google search: ‘what is imitation vanilla made from’ will explain why, lol.
Now those are a couple of pretty loaves of banana bread!
Can you Freeze Banana Bread?
Absolutely. I worked at a huge hotel and we would make dozens of loaves of Banana Bread at a time. Here’s how to do it:
- Let the finished banana bread cool completely
- Wrap the bread tightly in plastic wrap, then in a layer of aluminum foil. Plastic wrap by itself can come loose and allow the bread to freezer burn. The combination of plastic + foil prevents it from coming loose over time. Plus, it is easier to write on aluminum foil with a marker, labeling what’s inside with a use-by date of no longer than 3 months.
- When ready to thaw, leave the bread wrapped, and defrost at room temperature.
Here is my recipe for Cinnamon Maple Banana Bread:
Cinnamon Maple Banana Bread
Equipment
- 9 x 5 Loaf Pan
Ingredients
- 3 Bananas
- 3 Eggs
- 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter Melted
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- Cooking Spray to spray the loaf pan
Topping
- 1 Banana Sliced in half lengthwise
- Turbinado Sugar Can substitute granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- Add 3 bananas to a mixing bowl, mash with a potato masher for a chunky texture or with the back of a fork for a smoother consistency, beat the eggs and add to the mixture
- Add all the ingredients except the all-purpose flour and baking powder, use a whisk to combine well
- Sift the all-purpose flour and baking powder and add to the wet ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to fold together to form the batter
- Spray a 9 X 5" loaf pan with cooking spray, add the batter to the pan
- Slice the last banana in half lengthwise. Gently lay it on top of the batter and sprinkle generously with sugar
- Place the loaf pan on a larger sheet tray and place it in the oven, bake for 30 minutes
- Rotate the pan and bake for another 30-35 minutes. Oven temperatures vary, so bake until a skewer stuck into the center of the banana bread comes out clean.
- Let cool completely before removing from the pan
What About Adding Chocolate, Nuts, or Dates to Banana Nut Bread?
I like to add all of those extra ingredients or keep it just bananas, any way you make it, it’s going to be amazing. A good rule of thumb for this recipe is to keep any additional ingredients limited to a total of 1-cup.
Examples:
- 1-cup of chocolate chips, or
- ½ + ½ cups of chocolate chips and chopped nuts, or
- 1/3 + 1/3 + 1/3, etc. etc.
Olley Thompson
This banana bread is delicious, I loved having a slice for breakfast the last couple of days and froze the rest for later!
Steven
Thank you, Olley. I’m glad you like my Banana Bread recipe! Bon appetit!