A simple, sweet banana bread swirled with creamy maple butter and organic maple syrup and topped with a maple vanilla bean glaze and crunchy maple sugar crystals.

This recipe is sponsored by Maple Joe US. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the businesses who support Gathered At My Table!

There is nothing cozier than a thick slice of banana bread, especially when it’s gray and gloomy outside and your backyard is covered in snow. Somehow, I always have a stash of overripe bananas hanging out in my freezer and I’m forever looking for ways to dress up my classic banana bread. In walks Maple Joe and their super high-quality organic maple products.

This traditional banana bread has maple syrup and maple butter mixed into the batter for a rich, maple flavor plus it gets topped with a sweet maple glaze and crunchy maple chunks for an added bit of pizzaz. It’s perfect with a cup of coffee after breakfast, an afternoon snack, dessert, or anytime in between.

ingredients you need to make maple banana bread:

• Flour. I used all-purpose flour in this recipe, but you could easily substitute in 1/4 of the flour for whole wheat, rye, or spelt for a little extra nuttiness if desired.

• Leavening Agents. For this recipe, we will use both chemical leaveners—baking powder and baking soda. Baking powder contributes to the tall, pillowy rise while baking soda counteracts the acid in the bananas.

• Salt. Always salt your baked goods! But not all salt is the same. I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt in all of my recipe development, but since the crystals are bigger than other brands, cut the salt amount in half if you’re using Morton’s brand.

• Butter. Unsalted, softened butter is the base for this recipe. Plus, a little melted butter in the glaze helps it thicken and set once poured over the bread.

• Maple Butter. Maple Joe’s Maple Butter is creamy, with the consistency of peanut butter and adds fat content as well as flavor to this recipe. P.S. It’s also great on toast or apple slices.

• Brown Sugar. Warm, molasses filled brown sugar is used in place of traditional granulated sugar.

• Maple Syrup. Used in both the banana bread and the glaze, Maple Joe’s amber maple syrup is rich with a warm, caramel flavor.

• Bananas. You can’t have banana bread without bananas. The riper your bananas are, the sweeter they will be in your banana bread.

• Sour Cream or Whole Milk Yogurt. Creamy and acidic, it adds fat and acid to the banana bread.

• Vanilla. Pure vanilla extract complements the maple in the banana bread beautifully and a scraped vanilla bean in the glaze adds depth.

• Eggs. In this recipe, we use two eggs separated. Egg yolks provide fat and emulsification, while whipped egg whites folded into the batter at the end provide rise and leavening to the banana bread.

• Powdered Sugar. Sifted, for the glaze.

• Heavy Cream. Just a splash to loosen the glaze.

• Maple Sugar. Crunchy maple sugar pieces add texture to the finished banana bread. Completely optional, but very delicious.