THE BEST BANANA BREAD AND BUTTER CARAMEL SPREAD

I was looking for a recipe of the best banana bread for a really long time... I tried different versions and  this one is the best for me. Looks like everyone has their own idea of banana bread perfection, but if you like chocolate and nuts, I'm sure you will love my recipe!

In my opinion, the best banana bread is full of banana flavour, not too sweet, not too moist, a little bit spicy and  has a lot of nuts and chocolate inside! So here we go... Let's bake the best banana bread!

INGREDIENTS:
280g flour
100g sugar
100g pecan nuts (chopped)
 80g dark chocolate 70% (chopped)
3 big ripe bananas
2 eggs
100ml yoghurt
85g butter (melted and cooled)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon orange liqueur (like Cointreau)
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon muscat nut
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat the oven to 175C(347F). Grease and flour a 25cm x12.5cm loaf tin.

2. Sift the flour, soda, cardamom, cinnamon, muscat nut and salt into a mixing bowl. Set aside.

3.  Mix sugar, mashed bananas, butter, yoghurt, vanilla and liqueur in anothe bowl.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix just until combined. Stir in nuts and chocolate.

5. Pour the cake mixture into the tin. Bake for about 60 minutes or until a cake tester comes almost clean.

6. Remove from the oven and cool the bread in the tin for 3-5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

Serve with crème fraîche, butter caramel spread and pecan nuts.

BUTTER CARAMEL SPREAD

INGREDIENTS:
200g sugar
50g water
140g heavy cream (30-35%)
80g butter (cut into small pieces)

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a deep saucepan bring the water and sugar to boil. Cook until the mixture  gets  a  golden brown colour. Don’t stir it, just rotate the pan a little bit. Remove the pan  from the heat. Meanwhile  heat the cream in another pan.

2. Add the butter little by little to the sugar mixture. Stir it with a spoon until well combined. Put the pan back  over medium heat.

3. Add the cream, little by little to the mixture. Be careful, it’s VERY HOT. The mixture will increase in volume and might spit. Let it cook  for  an  additional  two minutes and remove from the heat.

4. Let the caramel cool for about 10-15 minutes in the pan, then  pour it into  glass jars. Keep in the refrigerator.