Banana Bread for Frances Jean
My grandma, Frances, loved everything about food. It was probably her favorite thing on the planet - talking about food, making food, eating food...
I learned a lot of cooking from all sides and all corners of my family, from healthy options to testing out all types of cuisines to developing a love for butter I never thought I'd have. (I buy a lot of butter.) That part, the rich buttery goodness, is something I attribute to my grandma and her North Carolina roots. (Seriously, don't watch me make mashed potatoes... you might talk yourself out of eating them which would be a total shame. Like Prue from GBBO says - it's worth the calories.)
Banana bread is something I would receive from grandma on any random occasion. It could be Christmas or maybe you stopped by in August and she just happened to have a tay of banana bread waiting, you never knew but there it was and man was it good.
Without further adieu, this is my banana bread recipe that I dedicate to my amazing grandma and her deep love for banana bread.
Banana Bread Ingredients
(this recipe makes 2 loaves)
2 cups (380 g) sugar
1 cup butter (200 g), softened
3 cups (420 g) flour
1 tsp. (5 g) baking soda
1 tsp. (5 g) table salt
4 eggs
2 tsp. (10 ml) vanilla extract
1/4 cup (35 g) almond flour or ground almonds
1/4 cup (60 ml) milk
4 extra large or 5 small ripe to overripe bananas
1/2 tsp. (2.5 g) ground ginger
1/2 tsp. (2.5 g) nutmeg
1 tsp. (5 g) cinnamon
Set a small (no more than a tablespoon) mixture of the ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon (same ratios) aside to sprinkle lightly on top before the breads go in the oven
Option: add 1 cup (190 g) chocolate chips or chunks
Bread Baking Directions
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Butter two loaf pans.
In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together flour(s)/crushed almonds, baking soda, spices and salt.
With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla, milk and bananas. I pre-mash my bananas together in a separate bowl and incorporate the mixture.
Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. (If you're adding chocolate chips, do that now.) Divide batter between the two prepared pans.
Sprinkle your seasoning mixture along the tops of the loaves. You don't need to use the full tablespoon, just sprinkle until you're happy with how it's coated.
Bake for approximately 1 hour - 1 hour 20 min depending on your oven.
Remove from oven and turn loaves out onto cooling rack immediately. Let cool.
Et Voilà! Obviously I opted for some chocolate in mine ;-)
I truly hope you enjoy this recipe. It's one that just makes my stomach smile and reminds me of my childhood.
I lost my grandma Frances on October 29th of this year and it's something that's been undoubtedly one of the most difficult things I've had to process in my life. She was my ultimate partner in crime during my childhood, she took care of me every day after school for a decade and I am just filled with hundreds of beautiful memories of our adventures.
She was a beautiful person, inside and out. She was also incredibly strange and utterly marvelous in her own way, completely unique, and my god was she expressive.
I've just been fondly remembering our strolls through neighborhood graveyards, writing and performing plays, tap dancing in the living room to melodies of Doris Day, endless hours of Nat Geo Kids VHS's and trips to the video store that was up on MacArthur to rent Marilyn Monroe films... limitless memories carefully collected, playing like family films on a projector in my mind. Like the wise, Winnie the Pooh once said: "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."
I will treasure every moment for as long as I live, and every time I make this bread I'll think of you as it bakes and fills the house with the wonderful smell of banana.
Cheers to Frances Jean.
Love,
Your little darlin'
