Boozy Banana Bread

This is something like the fourth banana bread recipe I’ve posted, which perhaps speaks to a dearth of culinary creativity – but I quite like banana bread. Besides, given how often I over-estimate my weekly consumption of said fruit and end up with brown, cloyingly sweet-smelling bananas rotting atop my countertop, I find it best to have options for how to dispose of them.

For whatever reason, this is my new favorite “traditional” banana bread. There’s nothing odd or idiosyncratic about this except that I add a slug of dark rum to the batter to intensify its flavors. The rum makes the batter smell and taste quite alcoholic, but once the loaf has baked you’ll be left with the merest hint of booze flavor. Rum isn’t among my favorite hard liquors – if the flavor were oppressive, this wouldn’t appeal to me.

In keeping with my usual tradition, I use vanilla yoghurt in place of milk, sour cream, or double the butter. The loaf has a moist, tender crumb and a substantial texture. It’s nice stuff.

As a general rule, I use walnuts and pecans interchangeably, but I think you want walnuts here. You definitely want to toast them.

Boozy Banana Bread

½ stick unsalted butter (4 tablespoons), room temp
3 over-ripe bananas
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temp
1 6-oz. container vanilla yoghurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3-4 tablespoons dark rum
2 tablespoons malted milk powder (optional but very nice)

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons white wheat flour (you could probably substitute all-purpose, but I think this lends textural interest)
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt

2/3 cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, mash bananas with butter. Add sugar, yoghurt, eggs, vanilla, rum, and malted milk powder and mix until well-blended.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add walnuts and stir to blend.

Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just blended, and pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Printable recipe here.