I have a confession to make. I hate bananas! In fact banana is probably one of my least favorite fruits. I just have a complex relationship with bananas; I hate eating them but I’m also aware of their positive benefits on people’s health. I think the only time I could find myself willingly eating bananas is when I’m working out because bananas are a great energy supplier. Most of the time, I hate bananas in fruit salads (too mushy to look appealing for me), drinks, smoothies, ice creams or yogurts. Without even trying to taste it, I was categorically opposed to the idea of eating banana bread. And it wasn’t as if my sister, who loves everything bananas, hadn’t tried to convert me.

However, three years ago, I tasted my first banana bread slice in the least expected place on Earth. A plane! Yes, I ate my first banana bread on an Air Canada flight, en route to Brussels, Belgium. Hilarious and ironic, right? My sister and some of my friends had been trying to get me to try banana breads from some of the best bakeries in Montreal and I always said No, yet it was banana bread made by Air Canada’s catering company that turned me into a banana bread convert. Unbelievable! In fairness, the plane departed late from Montreal because of a snowstorm, I was hungry so when the flight attendant handed me my in-flight snack before dinner time, I grabbed it and ate the cake slice without asking what it was. As I was eating, I found myself thinking “Hmmm this is not bad! It actually tastes good!” then turned to my sister and asked if she knew the name of the cake. She smiled and told me that it was in fact banana bread.

Since that day, I’m officially a banana bread aficionada even though I still hate having bananas in most dishes and drinks. So because of my aversion for bananas, I had to find the right balance in my recipe. I didn’t want my banana bread to be overfilled with bananas because I knew it would turn me off. Finally, after many attempts, I managed to find the right recipe that meets my liking.

Prep: 15 min                        Cook: 60-65 min                 8 Servings

INGREDIENTS

2 Eggs

2 cup of All-purpose Flour, sifted

1 cup of Sugar

½ cup (125 ml) of unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

¼ cup of Milk

2 ripe Bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon of pure Vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of Baking soda

½ teaspoon of Salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven at 350°F. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and salt) and put aside for later.

3. In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar at medium speed for 2 minutes. Then add the eggs, one by one, and continue to beat until everything is incorporated smoothly together.

4. Add flour mix to the butter mixture and mix until well combined. Add mashed bananas, milk and vanilla. Mix until obtaining a smooth and homogeneous cake batter.

5. Pour the cake batter in the loaf pan.

6. Bake for 60-65 minutes or until a knife inserted into the banana bread comes out clean.

7. Let the banana bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Unmold the cake before letting it rest on a cooling rack for another 5 minutes.

Then it’s time to cut slices and serve. Enjoy.

Tips:

For more crunch, it’s possible to add nuts like Grenoble walnuts, Brazil nuts, or hazelnuts to the cake batter.

Spread Nutella on top of a banana bread slice and it will taste heavenly.

For those who have an aversion for bananas like me, it’s possible to use 1 ripe banana instead of 2 if you don’t want the taste of banana to be more present. However if you like bananas and want your bread to have a pronounced banana flavor, use 3 bananas instead of 2.