OK. It’s no polar vortex, but it is cold, dark and rainy here in SoCal—window-rattling thunder, too.
My nerves are noticeably jangled.
Sweet Juliet, with plaintive break-your-heart “Mom: Make it stop” eyes, is hiding among the folds of her favorite blanket.
No question. We’re quite a jittery pair this afternoon!
Time to bake.
This fussy sweet bread recipe from the New York Times’ Yossy Arefi seemed like the perfect kind of calming baking project for this kind of frantic day. Fortunately, I have overripe bananas on my counter along with a forlorn half jar of Nutella sitting on my pantry shelf.
This recipe ups the flavor ante with browned butter and a dollop of Greek yogurt. All good.
In Italy, where people consume at least 60 million jars of Nutella each year, the chocolate-hazelnut spread is affectionately known as a cure for small sorrows.
Gotta tell you that here, on this stormy and moody day, this Nutella-laced banana bread has cured all sorts of rainy-day small sorrows. Hope it does the same for you.
Here is my adaptation of Arefi’s recipe.
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1/2 C. unsalted butter (plus more for greasing the pan)
- 2 C. all-purpose flour (plus more for flouring the pan)
- 1 t. baking soda
- 3/4 t. kosher salt
- 1 1/2 C. mashed bananas
- 2/3 C. granulated sugar
- 1/4 C plain Greek yogurt
- 2 eggs
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- 1/3 C. chocolate-hazelnut spread (Nutella)
- Long slices of ripe banana
- Honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9 inch by 5 inch by 3 inch loaf pan.
- Whisk flour, baking soda and salt together.
- Brown the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Melt the butter in the pan and then cook it until it turns a golden brown and smells nutty. Stir occasionally to scrape down brown bits while the butter browns. This is a precise process. Don't walk away from your pan while the butter is browning or you run the risk of burning it (and having to throw it out!). Once the butter is browned, pour it into a bowl and let it cool slightly.
- Once your browned butter has cooled a bit, stir in mashed bananas, sugar, yogurt, eggs and vanilla extract (I used vanilla paste.). Stir this mixture until it is well combined. Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined (don't overmix).
- Pour half of the batter into your loaf pan and smooth the top of the batter. Spoon half of the Nutella on top of the batter in dollops, using a skewer (I used a chop stick) to swirl the chocolate spread into the batter. Spoon the remaining half of the batter over the top, drop remaining Nutella (in dollops) on top of the batter and, again, swirl the Nutella into the batter.
- At this point, I arranged long slices of banana across the top of the batter and brushed it with melted honey. In the end, the slices of banana made for a breautiful presentation. Honey never hurts!
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until bolden brown. Check for doneness with a skewer or a thermapen. If checking the temperature with a termapen, the interior temperature of the bread should be about 210 degrees F.
- Cool on a rack before slicing.
