Banana-Blueberry and Banana-Cherry Breads

Robin: Last week somebody someone at work gave me some leftover bananas and half-jokingly said, “Here, make some banana bread.”

So I did.

It had been many years since I´d made any. Maybe decades. I mean, I do occasionally bake a killer pumpkin bread, and I love these zucchini-bread-like chocolate chip cookies, so quick breads are no stranger to me. I just hadn’t been motivated to make any bread of the banana persuasion. Maybe because, well, even though it brings back pleasant memories of my Midwestern childhood, let’s face it, banana bread’s kinda boring.

I knew I’d need to jazz it up a little. So since it´s July, and the fruits that are in season at this time of year go well with that long yellow fruit, I came up with these two summery banana breads. They were so good, I won´t wait years to make them again!

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Banana-Blueberry and Banana-Cherry Breads

A summery version of the classic quick bread. The recipe yields two large loaves; make them both the same, or mix and match.

Course bread, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword banana, blueberries, bread pudding, cherries, quick breads

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Resting (Fridge) Time 1 day

Total Time 1 day 1 hour 25 minutes

Servings 20 slices

Calories 225 kcal

Author Robin Grose / comboplate.net

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 and 1/3 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup real butter at room temperature
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 4 eggs
• 4 tablespoons milk
• 2 cups very ripe mashed banana
• 1 and 1/4 cups whole fresh blueberries or pitted and diced sweet cherries or mix both fruits
• ¾ cup chopped walnuts or pecans optional

Instructions

1. Place the all-purpose and whole wheat flours, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a bowl and stir to combine.
2. In a large bowl, beat the sugar, butter, and shortening with an electric mixer, scraping the sides of the bowl often, until the mixture has lightened in color and looks fluffy. Add two of the eggs and beat until smooth; add the milk and beat again; add the other eggs and beat until smooth and homogenous.
3. Add the flour mixture a little at a time, alternating with the banana, beating until smooth after each addition. Stir in the blueberries or cherries—and the nuts, if using—with a spoon or rubber scraper.

4. Lightly grease two large (8 or 9 inches by 4 or 5 inches) loaf pans or 6 mini loaf pans. Pour batter into pans.

5. Bake your banana bread batter at 350F for about an hour (large loaves) or 25 minutes (mini loaves), until a table knife inserted near the center comes out clean and the loaves are a beautiful brown color.

6. Cool to room temperature. Cover the pans with foil and refrigerate for 24 hours. (Resist the temptation to try the bread before that; the flavors take this time to fully develop.) Remove your delicious banana bread from pans, slice, and enjoy! Note: Flavor is best at room temperature.
7. Store at room temperature for up to three days, or longer in the fridge.

Recipe Notes

Notes on ingredients:

• Use the ripest bananas you can get; the riper they are, the more flavor they will lend to the final product.
• I like the mix of white and whole wheat flour here, as the whole wheat makes it a little more rustic and adds some nutrition and fiber, but you can definitely use all white flour, if that’s all you have.
• The combo of butter and shortening combines the great flavor of former with and the excellent texture of the latter, but feel free to use all butter or all shortening, if you prefer.

More easy and wonderful things to bake:

• Mexican Chinese Café Sweet Muffins
• My Mom’s Pear Cake
• Coconut Merengue Cookies