Recipe Peachy Orange Banana Bread

[The Late Night Gourmet]

I didn't just add orange to the banana bread recipe I posted recently. I overhauled it. Firstly, it doesn't need the nuts that a lot of people like to add to banana bread recipes. Secondly, the teaspoon of cinnamon I used last time wasn't nearly enough.

Technique-wise, I find that it makes more sense to blend in the baking powder and vanilla extract before the flour goes in. And, I forgot to add vanilla extract to the ingredients list, though it was in the recipe.

Then, of course, there's the addition of the orange. I decided to juice and zest a whole orange and use that. My wife tried the batter (as she always does), and said that the orange flavor is a bit strong. I tried telling her that this is why she shouldn't try the batter, but I know that won't stop her in the future. As she realized, though, the punch of the zest mellowed out a bit with baking, and when it's enjoyed with all the other fruits.

Ingredients

2 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 whole orange, including the peel
1 peach
3/4 cup dates, pitted and chopped

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a bread loaf pan.

2. In a mixing bowl, cream together 8 Tbsp softened butter and 3/4 cup sugar.

3. Mash bananas with a fork and add them to the batter along with 2 eggs, mixing until combined.

4. Blend cinnamon, baking powder, and vanilla extract into the mixture. Zest the orange peel into the mixture. Juice the entire orange into the mixture, then blend in fully.

5. While running the mixer on low speed, add 1/2 cup of flour, 1 tsp of baking soda and 1/2 tsp to the batter. Gradually blend in the remaining flour.

6. Peel peach and chop up the fleshy part, then mix in with dates until just combined. Pour into loaf pan.

7. Bake for 50-55 min or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let rest for 10 min before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

 

[TastyReuben]

I don’t normally like banana bread, but I think with all that orange in there, I’d enjoy this!