Banana Bread returns. The quintessential baked good of the pandemic — or maybe second to sourdough. The question actually is: is banana *bread* actually a bread? Why is it not a cake?
And why the name “Go Bananas, Mr. Foster!”? Well, Bananas Foster, the dessert, often made “table side” at restaurants (how 1970s), is lots of butter, lots of sugar — which when mixed together make a caramel-like sauce — rum to flambe and bananas, served with ice cream, is pretty much wrapped up in this banana bread. Well, minus the ice cream and I didn’t set the banana bread on fire. Also, if you ever went to a University of Maine sporting event, you will know that the black bear mascot is named Bananas the Bear. There is a little jingle/cheer that goes “Go! Bananas! Go-go Bananas!” So I have had that stuck in my head for days, so I combined Bananas Foster and Bananas the Bear. Go-go Bananas!
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut to small-ish pieces
3 tablespoons spiced rum
1 egg
1 cup very ripe mashed banana
3/4 cup chopped soft caramel candies (I used the Craft Caramel Bits)
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350F. Prepare two parchment or foil slings for two 8 x 4 inch loaf pans or one 9 x 5 inch pan. Spray generously with baking spray and dust with flour.
Place butter pieces in a medium skillet. Melt the butter over medium heat, swirling it in the pan occasionally. The butter will foam and pop, so be careful. Continue to swirl the pan often. Remove pan from heat once the butter starts to brown and smells nutty. There will be small brown bits on the bottom. The butter should be an amber color. Pour butter into a small bowl and let cool for a few minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the milk, melted butter, rum, egg, and mashed banana and stir well. Stir in the toasted nuts and chopped caramel.
Divide the batter evenly between the two pans, or fill the larger pan to 3/4 full (you may have a little batter left; do not overfill) and bake for 50-55 minutes for the smaller pans or 65-70 minutes for the larger, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it.
Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before turning the loaves out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
