Dirty Chai Banana Bread
/A very simple, ultra-moist banana bread made a bit more fun with the addition of a homemade chai spice blend and strong espresso.
Happy March! It’s an exciting month over here! If you haven’t noticed or if you’re new around here, I just got rebranded! My friend LJ at South and Emory and I have been working on a little redesign for my logo, colors, and branding since last fall and I’m so excited that it’s finally finished and I can share it with you! It feels like a brand new, fresh start! I’ve also been working a lot these past few weeks on a bunch of new things coming at you on the blog and in real life. I’ve finalized pricing and booking guides for culinary workshops and private dinner parties that I will be hosting in the future. I’ve finally finished the next installment in our Pastry 101 series—All About Sugar— that I will be sharing in the next few days. And I’m hosting a giveaway this week on my over on my Instagram! (P.S. it doesn’t close until Friday 3/6 so there is still time for you to get in on that!) I’m also working a few other (very exciting) projects that are still under wraps, so keep an eye out for some new announcements in the next few months. Whew! That was a lot of stuff! We deserve banana bread.
I’ve told you before about my childhood love for banana bread. As an adult, I went through a healthy banana bread phase. I baked loaf after loaf, replete with oats, and nuts, and seeds. I substituted sugars for honey or coconut sugars, and regularly worked in greek yogurt for a little extra protein. These were all fine loaves of banana bread, but each time, I was disappointed as I sliced into them. They were just that—good. Not great. Not as moist or as sweet or as exciting as the ones I remembered enjoying as a kid.
I say all of this to let you know that this is not a healthy banana bread. It’s not an unhealthy banana bread either (it does in fact contain bananas), but it also includes real sugar, real butter, and a hefty amount of espresso. This is a banana bread that makes you happy. It’s dense and moist and could pass as cake if you wanted it to. And the crunchy little layer of Demerara sugar on top is a real winner.
homemade chai spice
Homemade chai spice is always nice to keep on hand throughout the fall and winter months. Like my Hawaij spice blend, you can use it to make any of your favorite recipes feel a bit cozier. It’s made with a handful of spices you probably already have in your pantry: cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and all spice plus a little ground black tea and cracked black pepper. For the black tea, you can just cut open tea bags and dump out the grounds. The recipe for this spice blend makes more than is needed for the banana bread so you’ll have plenty for stirring into cookie doughs or muffin batters.
Dirty Chai Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp ground black tea
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground all spice
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups (210 g) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp chai spice blend
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (120 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar
- 1 stick (113 g) butter, at room temperature
- 2 eggs, separated
- 3 ripe bananas (about 250 g), mashed
- 2 tbsp brewed espresso
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3-4 tbsp Demerara sugar, for topping
- 1 whole banana for topping, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a 9x5" loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving an inch of overhang on each side.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the chai spice ingredients and set aside.
- In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and 1 tbsp of the chai spice blend. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar for 1-2 minutes, until all of the sugar is well-coated by the butter and the mixture has the consistency of wet sand.
- Add the egg yolks, mashed bananas, vanilla, and espresso and beat until combined. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix on low until combined and no flour streaks remain.
- In a clean bowl, whip the egg whites to medium peaks. Add the whipped egg whites to the batter in two additions, folding gently with a rubber spatula until there are no remaining streaks of egg whites. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan.
- Slice the whole banana in half lengthwise and place on top of the batter. Sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center and the sides of the cake begin to pull away from the pan.
- Let cool completely in the pan, then turn out onto a cooling rack to slice.
Notes:
This recipe makes more chai spice than needed for the banana bread, but it's nice to keep on hand for the season. You can easily add it to all sorts of cakes, cookies, and muffins!
