Banana Nut Bread is a sweet and in the case of this recipe spicy type of bread that is considered a quick bread. Quick breads start out as a batter instead of a dough and derive their name from the fact that you do not need to knead the dough or let it rise.
Quick breads use either baking powder or baking soda as the leavening agents instead of yeast. Some times a combination of baking powder and baking soda is used. This recipe for Spicy Banana Nut Bread uses baking powder.
Though banana nut bread and banana bread are very popular breads today that has not always been the case. They first gain their popularity back in the 1930’s when baking powder and baking soda based recipes began to appear more in the popular cookbooks of the day. In the 1960’s when young people started making their own food and where looking for more natural ways to cook it again became well know and baked in many households. The fact that it is relatively fast to make helped in it’s popularity and the aroma of it baking in the oven certainly didn’t hurt. Plus a slice of fresh, warm, buttered banana bread has got to be one of the tastiest things you can put in your mouth.
This is a little on the spicy side, thanks to the cinnamon, mace, and cardamom in it.
But it really kicks the flavor up. If you don’t like nuts, leave them out. You can also omit the cardamom and ground mace, but I really would not recommend it.
1 � cups sifted all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
� teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoons ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoons ground mace
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
2/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pureed ripe bananas
� cups coarsely chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9×5x3 inch loaf pan.
Sift flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, and mace
onto wax paper and set aside.
Cream the shortening and sugar in a large bowl with an electric
mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs and vanilla.
By hand, add dry ingredients alternately with the bananas,
beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
Stir in pecans.
Spoon batter into pan spreading evenly into the corners.
Bake about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool loaf in pan on wire rack for about 10 minutes.
Loosen around the edge and turn out of pan onto rack.
Cool thoroughly before slicing.
For an interesting and tasty twist on the spicy banana bread recipe try turning it into banana nut cake with a cream cheese icing. Simply pour the batter into a greased nine inch cake pan. It will take less time to bake so keep an eye on it. After you can stick a tooth pick into the center and it comes out clean, remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
Remove from the cake pan and ice the cake with the cream cheese icing recipe below.
Cream Cheese Icing
One 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. butter, softened
2 tsp. vanilla
1 lb. pkg. powdered sugar
Beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth.
Blend in vanilla.
Sift powdered sugar into the mixture and blend well.
