From Yogurt to Bread
I did not grow up eating yogurt. Then again, way back in the day, in my humble opinion yogurt was really kind of disgusting. Nowadays, I enjoy mango Greek yogurt, thanks to my cousin Brett.
Samuel on the other hand is in a strawberry and/or strawberry/banana yogurt phase. This means that I am buying a lot of yogurts when I go to Publix, ‘where shopping is a pleasure.’
I still can’t get myself to eat the yogurts that Samuel enjoys, but the combination of bananas and strawberries sounded appealing when the bananas I had bought turned brown from lack of attention. Fortunately, I happened to have a quart of strawberries in the fridge, so I was ready to bake.
I do love the Banana Bread with Pecans that I blogged about a while ago. I used that recipe as my inspiration for this one. One word of advice, be sure to blot the chopped strawberries with paper towels to get as much moisture out of them as you can.
I know that many of you will think that bananas are so overpowering that the strawberries don’t have a chance to shine. The reality is that the two main ingredients do a beautiful job co-starring in this bread.
The only regret I have is that I shared so much of the Banana Strawberry Bread that I did not get the chance to slice, grill, butter and jam the bread. I may like to share my goodies with others, but I have to remember not to share the whole thing because I do get cravings after it is gone!
| Banana Strawberry Bread | | Print |
- ¾ cup chopped strawberries
- 3 overripe bananas, divided
- 2¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1¾ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat the oven to 350º. Butter and flour a 9” x 5” loaf pan. Set aside.
- Chop strawberries into medium dice size pieces. Blot with paper towels. Set aside.
- Use a fork to gently mash one banana in a small bowl so the consistency has little chunks of banana in it. Set aside.
- Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
- Using the wire whisk of an electric mixer, whip the remaining two bananas and sugar together for 3 minutes. Add melted butter, eggs and vanilla and beat well.
- Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed, just until incorporated, scraping the bowl down as needed.
- Fold in mashed banana and chopped strawberries with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake at 350º in the middle of the oven until cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour. Rotate pan halfway through for even baking. Cover with foil if the top is getting too dark (usually around 40 minutes).
- Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
