Maple Banana Bread

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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.

Maple Banana Bread
Yield one 9x5" loaf
Author Anna Ramiz
Prep time
30 Min
Cook time
1 Hour
Total time
1 H & 30 M

Maple Banana Bread

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.

Ingredients

for the banana bread
  • 1 3/4 cup (225 g) all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 tbsp Maple Joe's Maple Butter
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar
  • 3 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/3 cup (70 g) sour cream or whole milk yogurt
  • 1/4 cup (80 g) Maple Joe's Organic Amber Maple Syrup
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs, separated
for the glaze

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a 9x5" loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving about an inch of overhang on each side.
  2. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream butter, brown sugar, and maple butter until all of the sugar is well-coated by the butter and the mixture is light and fluffy.
  4. Add the egg yolks, mashed bananas, vanilla extract, maple syrup, sour cream and mix until well-combined. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix on low until combined and no flour streaks remain.
  5. 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.
  6. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and bake for 50-55 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.
  7. Let cool completely in the pan, then turn out onto a cooling rack.
  8. To make the glaze, whisk together melted butter, powdered sugar, maple syrup, vanilla bean, heavy cream, and salt until very smooth. Pour glaze over warm banana bread and let rest for about 5 minutes, to allow the glaze to set. Sprinkle the top with crunchy maple sugar.
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Banana Coconut Coffee Cake

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A soft, sweet banana cake with a thick layer of tropical, toasted coconut streusel makes the perfect pair for your morning cup of coffee.

I’m back from Sicily and we’re jumping right back into our regularly scheduled baking content. I don’t know about you, but when I come home from a long trip, no matter how wonderful the food was, I crave comfort. I want to take a shower in my own bathroom, wear pajamas, eat a big bowl of pasta, and bake something cozy. I’m looking for low-effort comfort, and it often arrives in the form of cake. Simple cake to be exact.

I always have between 5-7 bananas shoved in my freezer and I’m reminded of their existence every time I open the freezer door and one or two fly out, barely missing my toes. While it’s nice to always ripe bananas on hand for when the baking urge strikes, it’s very difficult to think of anything to do with them besides make banana bread. For the last few months, my freezer banana count has been steadily increasing as I worked on recipes that would meet the banana baked good quota: simple, sweet, cozy. In walks this cake. It’s everything that you’re looking for in a banana cake: super moist, dense, and just sweet enough that it can double as both dessert and breakfast.

banana coconut coffee cake

This recipe is a riff of one of my very favorite recipes, my sweet potato and rye coffee cake. We subbed the sweet potatoes with bananas, of course. Got rid of the rye flour, and replaced the buttermilk with full-fat canned coconut milk. The streusel topping got a little facelift with the addition of toasted coconut.

It’s a simple creaming method cake and can be mixed up in just a few minutes. A quick tip: room temperature is really best for the ingredients in this case. Because of the high liquid content and the temperature characteristics of melted butter and coconut milk, this batter has a tendency to curdle easily. If that happens, just add in a bit of the dry ingredients to help bind everything together and it should smooth right out. Happy baking!

Banana Coconut Coffee Cake
Yield one 9x13" cake
Author Anna Ramiz
Prep time
30 Min
Cook time
45 Min
Total time
1 H & 15 M

Banana Coconut Coffee Cake

( 0 reviews )
A soft, sweet banana cake perfect for your morning cup of coffee topped with a thick layer of tropical coconut streusel.

Ingredients

for the crumble
  • 1/2 cup (65 g) all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup (75 g) rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup coconut flakes
  • 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
for the cake
  • 2 1/4 cup (290 g) all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
  • 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 150 g mashed banana, from about 2 large bananas
  • 3/4 cup full fat coconut milk
  • 1/4 cup brewed espresso, cooled
for the glaze
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup (55 g) full fat coconut milk
  • 1/8 tsp vanilla powder, or sub a splash of vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

to make the crumble
  1. Whisk together flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and coconut flakes in a medium sized bowl until combined.
  2. Add the butter and work together using your fingers until butter is completely mixed in and no dry spots remain. Place in the refrigerator to chill while you make the cake.
to make the cake
  1. Line a 9x13” baking dish with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350° F.
  2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine softened butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, making sure to scrape down the sides and ensure all of the butter chunks have been mixed in.
  4. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the mashed banana and vanilla extract. Mix on medium-low speed for 1-2 minutes more, until everything is well-combined.
  5. Combine coconut milk and espresso in a measuring cup.
  6. With the mixer on low speed, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, followed by half of the coconut milk/espresso mixture. When the liquid has been mixed in, add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, followed by the remaining 1/2 of liquid, and then the remaining 1/3 of dry ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then mix for one more minute. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatular to gently fold the batter a few more times, ensuring that it is smooth and homogenous and everything is well-combined.
  7. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and use an offset spatula to smooth it into an even layer. Remove crumbs from the refrigerator and sprinkle it in a thick even layer over the top of the cake.
  8. Bake for 40-45 minutes, rotating halfway through the baking time, until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the the center of the cake. Let cool completely in the pan while you make the glaze.
to make the glaze
  1. Combine ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth, adding more powdered sugar or coconut milk to thicken or loosen the glaze until you reach your desired consistency.
  2. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake before serving.

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Earl Grey and Cardamom Banana Bread

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A floral spin on the classic banana bread. This thick, moist banana bread is filled with bright citrus zest, herbal earl grey tea, and cardamom.

Well, it’s winter. As I’m writing this, my weather app is telling me that it is currently 3° F outside and tomorrow the high is 0° F. ZERO. I’m still working on wrapping my little Florida head around this whole sub-zero winter weather. I’ve discovered that as long as you bundle up really well and spend most of the time indoors, it’s not terrible. I also have found that I love the sparkly blanket of snow that covers the ground and even the big flakes that fall from the sky every few days. And I’ve also discovered that a thick, warm loaf of banana bread makes it a lot better.

I’m always looking for ways to slightly fancy up the classic banana bread. I want to add subtle flavors that will add depth and interest, without completely changing the tried and true banana bread that I know and love. This little flavor riff is a real winner. I know this because normally, when I play with banana bread, Martin’s response is always that “it’s good” and he “really likes it” but he still “just prefers the regular banana bread”. But not with this one! I made it a couple of times, tweaking the recipe slightly each time, until on this current iteration, Martin decided that it was his “favorite banana bread I’ve ever made”. So there you go. It’s a raging success.

how to make earl grey and cardamom banana bread

This is my basic banana bread recipe, because if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

We start by creaming butter with sugar and brown sugar, but this time, we’re also adding a smattering of orange zest, a fair amount of ground cardamom, and dried earl grey tea. (Just buy a box of earl grey and slice open the tea bags to get loose ground tea). We’re going to add all of these flavor components in this first step because creaming any sort of flavor additive (like zest, or extract) allows for the oils in them to coat the fat in the butter resulting in a more assertive and evenly-distributed flavor.

When the butters, sugars, and aromatics are thick and creamy, we’ll add mashed, ripe bananas, egg yolks, vanilla, and sour cream (or yogurt) for extra moisture. Then we add our dry ingredients—flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix until we have a thick, smooth batter.

Finally, we whip our egg whites. Whipping egg whites and then folding them gently into the batter will create more rise and leavening in our bread.

A little science lesson:

Rise in baked goods comes from three different sources: air, steam, and chemical leaveners (like baking powder and soda). In this recipe, we use both chemical leaveners, but the baking soda’s main job is to react with and balance the acidic ingredients in the recipe (bananas and sour cream). The baking powder is there to actually help the bread rise. By creaming the butter, we are incorporating air into the batter and coating each of the sugar granules in fat, suspending them in the batter. Then, when the bread is baking and the sugar begins to dissolve, there will be steam released that will also aid in rising. So by folding in whipped egg whites, we are adding yet another layer of leavening (air and steam) which will leave us with a final product that is both hefty and dense (like the banana breads we know and love), but also a light with a finer crumb.

After folding in the egg whites, we transfer the batter to a loaf pan, sprinkle on a layer of crunchy demerara sugar and bake it off. Cooling the banana bread completely in the pan will help form that sticky top layer, which is the very best part in my opinion. Smear thick slices with Kerrygold butter and a little sprinkle of Maldon, curl up on your couch, and embrace all of the coziness you can in this frigid winter season.