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Luxe Banana Bread with Creme Fraiche


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Ingredients

  • 13/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • a pinch of ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 11/4 cups mashed bananas (from 34 very ripe medium bananas)
  • 1/2 cup creme fraiche
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 9-x-5 loaf pan. (My pan was 8.5-x-4.5 inches and juuuuuuust barely fit … I wouldn’t go smaller than that.)
  2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars using an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the mashed bananas, crème fraîche and vanilla extract.
  4. Using a spatula, fold in the flour mixture in batches to the batter, stirring until just barely incorporated. Scrape the batter into the loaf pan.
  5. Bake for 45-60 minutes (mine needed the full hour, though I’d start checking regularly after 45 minutes), until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If your banana bread is browning too quickly, cover it with a piece of foil. Let it cool for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.