Maple Banana Bread
/A simple, sweet banana bread swirled with creamy maple butter and organic maple syrup and topped with a maple vanilla bean glaze and crunchy maple sugar crystals.
This recipe is sponsored by Maple Joe US. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the businesses who support Gathered At My Table!
There is nothing cozier than a thick slice of banana bread, especially when it’s gray and gloomy outside and your backyard is covered in snow. Somehow, I always have a stash of overripe bananas hanging out in my freezer and I’m forever looking for ways to dress up my classic banana bread. In walks Maple Joe and their super high-quality organic maple products.
This traditional banana bread has maple syrup and maple butter mixed into the batter for a rich, maple flavor plus it gets topped with a sweet maple glaze and crunchy maple chunks for an added bit of pizzaz. It’s perfect with a cup of coffee after breakfast, an afternoon snack, dessert, or anytime in between.
ingredients you need to make maple banana bread:
Flour. I used all-purpose flour in this recipe, but you could easily substitute in 1/4 of the flour for whole wheat, rye, or spelt for a little extra nuttiness if desired.
Leavening Agents. For this recipe, we will use both chemical leaveners—baking powder and baking soda. Baking powder contributes to the tall, pillowy rise while baking soda counteracts the acid in the bananas.
Salt. Always salt your baked goods! But not all salt is the same. I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt in all of my recipe development, but since the crystals are bigger than other brands, cut the salt amount in half if you’re using Morton’s brand.
Butter. Unsalted, softened butter is the base for this recipe. Plus, a little melted butter in the glaze helps it thicken and set once poured over the bread.
Maple Butter. Maple Joe’s Maple Butter is creamy, with the consistency of peanut butter and adds fat content as well as flavor to this recipe. P.S. It’s also great on toast or apple slices.
Brown Sugar. Warm, molasses filled brown sugar is used in place of traditional granulated sugar.
Maple Syrup. Used in both the banana bread and the glaze, Maple Joe’s amber maple syrup is rich with a warm, caramel flavor.
Bananas. You can’t have banana bread without bananas. The riper your bananas are, the sweeter they will be in your banana bread.
Sour Cream or Whole Milk Yogurt. Creamy and acidic, it adds fat and acid to the banana bread.
Vanilla. Pure vanilla extract complements the maple in the banana bread beautifully and a scraped vanilla bean in the glaze adds depth.
Eggs. In this recipe, we use two eggs separated. Egg yolks provide fat and emulsification, while whipped egg whites folded into the batter at the end provide rise and leavening to the banana bread.
Powdered Sugar. Sifted, for the glaze.
Heavy Cream. Just a splash to loosen the glaze.
Maple Sugar. Crunchy maple sugar pieces add texture to the finished banana bread. Completely optional, but very delicious.
Maple Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup (225 g) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tbsp Maple Joe's Maple Butter
- 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar
- 3 ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/3 cup (70 g) sour cream or whole milk yogurt
- 1/4 cup (80 g) Maple Joe's Organic Amber Maple Syrup
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, separated
- 1/4 cup (56 g) melted butter
- 2 tbsp Maple Joe's Organic Amber Maple Syrup
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 vanilla bean, scraped
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
- pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp Maple Joe's Organic Maple Sugar Chunks
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a 9x5" loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving about an inch of overhang on each side.
- In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream butter, brown sugar, and maple butter until all of the sugar is well-coated by the butter and the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add the egg yolks, mashed bananas, vanilla extract, maple syrup, sour cream and mix until well-combined. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix on low until combined and no flour streaks remain.
- In a clean bowl, whip the egg whites to medium peaks. Add the whipped egg whites to the batter in two additions, folding gently with a rubber spatula until there are no remaining streaks of egg whites.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and bake for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center and the sides of the cake begin to pull away from the pan.
- Let cool completely in the pan, then turn out onto a cooling rack.
- To make the glaze, whisk together melted butter, powdered sugar, maple syrup, vanilla bean, heavy cream, and salt until very smooth. Pour glaze over warm banana bread and let rest for about 5 minutes, to allow the glaze to set. Sprinkle the top with crunchy maple sugar.
