Moist Walnut Banana Bread
The favorite dessert of overripe bananas — and those who eat them
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Cook time: 50 minutes
The riper and spottier a banana, the sweeter, softer, and more perfect it is for this irresistible banana bread. A foolproof cake, anti-waste by nature, that transforms your most bruised fruit into a dessert everyone will be asking for.
Ingredients
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bananas
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eggs
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butter
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brown sugar
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flour
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levure chimique
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cinnamon
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salt
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noix
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vanilla extract
Recipe steps
Prepare the pan and preheat the oven
Preheat your oven to 170°C (convection) or 180°C (conventional). Generously butter a 25 cm loaf pan and lightly flour it, or line it with parchment paper. Melt the butter and let it cool slightly.
Mash the bananas
Peel the bananas and mash them with a fork in a large bowl until you get a rough purée. The small chunks that remain add tenderness — don’t aim for a perfectly smooth texture. The riper and spottier the bananas, the naturally sweeter and softer your cake will be.
Mix the wet ingredients
Add the beaten eggs, cooled melted butter, sugar, and vanilla extract to the bowl. Mix well with a spatula or whisk until the mixture is smooth.
Fold in the dry ingredients
Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Gently fold with a spatula — just enough to incorporate the flour, without overworking the batter (which would make it dense). Add 3/4 of the roughly chopped walnuts and fold them into the batter.
Bake and check
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Scatter the remaining walnuts on top for a crunchy finish. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes. Halfway through, if the top is browning too quickly, cover with aluminum foil. The banana bread is done when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Let it cool for 15 minutes in the pan before turning out.
Tips and variations
- Chocolate version: Swap the walnuts for 80 g of dark chocolate chips for an even more indulgent treat — perfect for kids.
- Gluten-free version: Replace the regular flour with a mix of rice flour and cornstarch (half and half). The texture is slightly different but just as soft.
Anti-waste tips
Overripe bananas are the best! A completely black banana isn’t a lost cause — it’s the perfect banana for this cake. The riper it is, the naturally sweeter it becomes, which even lets you cut back on the added sugar.
Freeze your bananas ahead of time: Got bananas ripening too fast? Peel them, wrap them in plastic wrap, and pop them in the freezer. Thaw them at room temperature when you’re ready to bake — they’ll be even easier to mash and even sweeter.
The cake keeps well: Wrapped in plastic wrap or a clean tea towel, this banana bread stays fresh for 4 to 5 days at room temperature — and it’s even better the next day. It also freezes beautifully in individual slices.
