High Mountain Lodge
PO Box 1888
Winter Park, CO 80482
425 County Road 5001
Winter Park, CO 80482
Banana-Nut Bread
Makes 1 loaf
Grease and flour an 8 x 4 loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350º F.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together
1/3 cup softened butter
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar (dark or light; your preference. Dark tastes better.)
Add
2 eggs
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (get the good stuff)
2 tbsp. milk
Add
1 cup mashed, very ripe bananas (Hint: this is about three bananas, and if they are ripe enough, you don't have to mash them before throwing them in the mixer)
Sift, then measure into bowl
1-3/4 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour
Add
1/4 cup honey--raw is best. (Hint: heat the honey in the microwave or a boiling water bath--about a minute on high in the microwave, depending on its strength and the size of the honey jar, then measure the 1/4 cup. The honey will be less viscous and easier to work with, and it won't be so much work to wrestle it out of the measuring cup and into the mixing bowl.)
Add
3/4 cup nuts. (We like pecans or almonds best, though walnuts will also work.)
Ensure that all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated into the batter, then add
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Incorporate well,
Pour batter into the prepaired loaf pan, and
Bake for ~1 hour at 350ºF. Test with a toothpick; if it comes out clean it's done.
Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for ~10 minutes, then remove from the pan and continue cooling for at least 30 minutes before cutting and serving.
The original recipe came out of a book of bed & breakfast recipes that Julie's aunt, who used to run a bed & breakfast, gave us when we opened the High Mountain Lodge.
Prep notes:
Don't worry about getting the amount of banana exactly right: more banana will make a more moist, more compact loaf.
But: a moister loaf will also mean a denser and stickier loaf, so be sure to grease and flour the pan well to avoid problems getting the loaf out of the pan.