Blueprint Bakes: Banana Bread

   blueprint bakes / Emily / food / recipes      Posted on July 12, 2011 by Emily

There is one thing that we here at Blueprint Interactive talk about almost as much as the interwebs, and that is food -- restaurants, burritos, baking projects -- we like to eat. So today we've decided to lift the curtain on one of the best kept secrets this side of the Mississippi: what makes Emily's banana bread so moist...

... The oil. 

Here's the recipe. Don't bake it for much more than 50 minutes. Let it cool (just enough) and dig in. 

(courtesy of A Cup of Comfort Cookbook)

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup oil
3 medium overripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¾ cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted lightly in dry pan (optional)

1. Heat oven to 350°. Butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, and oil; whip vigorously until creamy and light in color, about 5 minutes. Add mashed bananas and vanilla extract to egg mixture.

3. Add about one-third of the flour mixture at a time (that is, in 3 portions: one third, then one-third, then the final one-third) to the egg mixture. Mix only enough to incorporate the ingredients, since overmixing will toughen the batter. Stir in the nuts, and pour batter into prepared pan.

4. Bake in the center of the oven until the top in springy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 to 60 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes; transfer to rack to cool completely before slicing.