I can’t keep up with mercurial October…
The month started out amazingly, so I was caught completely off guard when it quickly turned dark and painful without warning. Yet suddenly it changed again. Albeit a colossal cliché, the idea that when one door closes another one opens has proven true for me twice now in three months, most recently this past Tuesday when a door opened I never would’ve expected. Sometimes things really do happen for a reason (I’m full of clichés today).
Going back to the low in between the two highs, this was my coping mechanism last week when I was hurt, angry, and—I’m sorry to say—probably not very fun to be around:
Hibernate like a bear… away from other people so they don’t have to deal with me!
And stuff my face with banana bread.
Not sure if bears really eat banana bread when they hibernate. Whatever. In any case, it was actually good timing, since the book manuscript deadline is coming up so there was no time to be social anyway. And hibernating afforded me ample opportunity to throw myself into work, simultaneously writing and experimenting with new recipes for future posts.
Above, chai banana bread with homemade Pumpkin Pie Cream Cheese.
It’s a cinnamon spicy take on traditional banana bread. (Fun random fact for grammar nerds: chai tea is a tautology, as both words mean the same thing… like pizza pie or fall down.)
Chai Banana Bread
- 2 cups spelt or all-purpose flour (or 2 cups Bob’s gf)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- only if using gf flour, add 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp each: ginger, cardamom, cloves, and nutmeg
- 3/4 tsp salt
- optional, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 Nunaturals stevia packet OR 1 tbsp sugar of choice
- 3 tbsp milk of choice
- 3 1/2 tbsp vegetable or melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (or another liquid sweetener of choice)
- 2 cups mashed bananas (measure the 2 cups after mashing)
- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice or white or apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine dry ingredients and mix very well. In a separate mixing bowl, combine wet ingredients, then stir into dry until just evenly mixed. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake 35-40 minutes. (If the top is cooked but the inside is gooey, you can put tin foil over the top and continue to bake.) Let cool 10 minutes before slicing. Store leftover slices in the refrigerator or freezer after one day. Makes 10-12 slices. Top with coconut butter, pumpkin butter, or the pumpkin pie cream cheese recipe linked under the third photo of this post.
View Chai Banana Bread Nutrition Facts
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Tillie Q says
Hi Katie! I try my hardest to avoid all sugars. Is it possible to make this without the maple syrup? Can I use more banana in its place? Do you have any other substitution suggestions, for this recipe or for others? I was wondering the same thing about your blender muffins as well. Thanks so much!
Jason Sanford says
You can always experiment! Be sure to report back if you do.
Gabrielle says
I was really excited for this but unfortunately it did not work out for me. I followed the recipe as written (w/AP flour) and after 50 mins my tester still didn’t come out clean. Some of your other quick bread recipes instruct turning off the oven and leaving the bread inside, so I tried that with this one too, but it still didn’t help. The loaf was brown all over and cooked on the outside, but sticky and banana-y on the inside. The middle sunk down as well. Sad!
Hope says
I have been making this recipe for years and love it! Recently, however, whenever I make this recipe the bread comes out almost completely raw, despite cooking it for twice the suggested time above. I’ve checked my oven temperature with a thermometer and tested that my baking soda and baking powder are still good. I am using whole spelt flour. I recently had a similar effect with your chocolate banana bread (which I’ve also been making for years with no problems up until now). Could extra liquid from defrosting frozen bananas be making this dough too wet? Or do you possibly have any other suggestions why this could be happening? Thank you!
CCK Media Team says
Hmmm that’s so strange! Did you recently move to a new area (with a different climate or elevation)? If all the ingredients you are using are the same as they always were, then the only thing it could be is equipment or climate/weather/outside temperature. Such a strange mystery!