cinnamon crunch chai banana bread
Balancing everyday noms with pumpkin palooza.
For real, though, is banana bread not a cozy mainstay? Especially when scented with chai. The rich spices swim through the house and channel calm. I can always use some extra chill, especially when something goes wrong and my anxiety goes WEE YOU SUCK YOU ASSHOLE.
That happened today. I’m not always graceful with failure. When something means a lot to me and it flops, I take the whole affair very personally and, as with many phases of severe anxious breakdown, merely have to wait for them to pass. I think this is worsened right now by my being so behind with what I want to have done at this point – vacation + hurricane = limited time.
Thankfully, tomorrows exist. Hell, “one hour later” exists, too. I made a cup of my favorite tea, poured a big bowl of popcorn and grabbed a pumpkin cookie from the pantry. Devised a plan, gave J a big hug, opened a couple packages I had waiting for me (new shit always guarantees a better mood). Sometimes shit just doesn’t work the first time.
AND THEN, sometimes it does. As any good culinary mom does, I had neglected a bunch of bananas for far too long and they were merely black globs in my fruit bowl. Thank the gods for whoever discovered mashing them up into a big saccharine stew and throwing the pulp into a bowl with other crap to create this loaf of definitely-not-crap.
That crunch topping, too? Bruh.
If you need to step away from strict fall and use up some of your household components, look no further than Cinnamon Crunch Chai Banana Bread. Sweet streusel speckles a loaf of spicy, chocolatey banana bread. I am a big hoe for adding chocolate to quick breads (unless it’s beer bread, that’d be awkward) and while this is pretty much optional, I recommend you try it, too, if you’re a chocolate hoe like me.
One Bowl to Mix Them All
Yep, just one big fat bowl. And a bread pan. That’s pretty important.
My bananas were pretty large, so four did the trick to achieve 2 cups of pulp. You may need more, or even less if you have gargantuan fruits. Mash them up real good. Clumps are fine, you just don’t want massive pieces.
Banana breads are quite easy to devise. I use melted coconut oil for fat and maple to sweeten, then eggs, vanilla, and of course the bananas. Toss in your dry ingredients, including a blend of chai-inspired spices: cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, clove, allspice, and black pepper. Finish with a big handful of dark chocolate chunks.
For the streusel, I used both white and brown sugar, melted butter, cinnamon, and a bit of flour to create a lumpier texture. Pour the thick banana bread batter into a greased bread pan and dust that beautiful streusel shit all over the top. Then bake!
Pro tip: When the bread rises, some of the streusel might leak out of the top of the loaf pan. I slid a baking tray on the rack beneath the bread to catch any strays. Makes clean up a hell of a lot easier.
…And Then We Eats It
I’m not sure what else to write here. I guess I can talk about cooling the bread?
I definitely recommend grabbing a warm slice, but you’d be surprised how long banana bread stays warm after its removed from the oven. Keep the loaf in the pan for about 10 minutes, then loosen the edges with a knife, invert onto a plate (some of the streusel might break off, that’s okay!) and flip back onto a wire rack. Before cutting, let the loaf cool for 30 minutes on the rack. Then, fucken go to town.
I love a smear of salted butter on a slice, maybe a drizzle of honey if my sweet tooth is giving me grief. A hot coffee or tea pairs impeccably. A soft blanket, a cat or dog, your favorite human…now that’s the kind of physical peace I prefer.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Quick, I need bread!
Cream Cheese Swirled Apple Cider Pumpkin Bread
Chocolate Chunk Buckwheat Banana Bread
cinnamon crunch chai banana bread
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 large bananas, very ripe (about 2 cups mashed)
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cardamom
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks or chips
cinnamon crunch topping
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp all purpose flour
- 4 tbsp butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5 inch bread pan with butter or oil.
- Whisk together the melted coconut oil, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla, then stir in the mashed banana. Add the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, allspice, black pepper, baking soda, and salt until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. The batter should be quite thick.
- Make the cinnamon crunch topping. In a small bowl, toss together the brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, flour, and melted butter until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bread pan. Sprinkle the crunch topping all over. Bake for 55-65 minutes until an inserted toothpick emerges clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pan, then run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen and invert onto a plate. Flip onto a wire rack and cool at least 30 minutes more. Slice and serve with extra butter!
