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Banana Bread–Juliet’s Plan B
Ingredients
  • 1 3/4 C. mashed ripe bananas I didn't have quite this amount but my bread turned out fine
  • 3/4 C. plus 2 T. firmly packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 C. vegetable oil
  • 1/3 C. well-shaken buttermilk at room temperature you can substitute milk curdled with some lemon juice
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 T. dark rum
  • 1 t. pure vanilla extract
  • 2 C. plus 2 T. unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 t. baking powder
  • 1 t. baking soda
  • 1/2 t. fine sea alt
  • 3 T. granulated sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. and position a rack in the lower third of the oven.
  2. Prepare a loaf pan (9 inch by 5 inch) by spraying it with cooking spray and lining the pan with parchment paper. Let some of the parchment hang over the long sides of the pan. You will use those long pieces of parchment as handles to safely remove the cake from the pan once it is done.
  3. Combine mashed bananas, brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, eggs, rum and vanilla in a large bowl. Mix to combine.
  4. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl.
  5. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until everything is just blended.
  6. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and smooth the top.
  7. Put the granulated sugar into a small bowl. Wet your hands and pinch the sugar and the water on your hands together until the sugar begins to clump like snow. Scatter clumps of sugar onto the top of the bread. This will give a nice crunchy top to your bread.
  8. Bake in 325 degree F. preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes (mine was on the longer side) or until the bread is firm when you press the top and a toothpick inserted into the bread comes back clean. Remove bread from the oven and let it sit on a rack for about 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes, use a knife to free up the sides of the bread and use the parchment handles to remove the bread from the pan. Let the bread cool completely on a wire rack before serving. Enjoy!
  9. Cook's Note: If you don't have buttermilk, combine 1 T. lemon juice and enough milk to fill a cup measure. Stir and leave on your counter for about 5 minutes to curdle. Voila!