Sour Cream Banana Bread

I never seem to have a shortage of bananas in my kitchen and everyone knows that means I also rarely have a shortage of banana bread. Banana bread is my go-to when I want a coffee-time snack for myself or an easy brunch bake for the weekends. This Sour Cream Banana Bread is a great basic recipe that has a moist, dense crumb and is packed with plenty of classic banana bread flavors.

The banana bread is flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract, flavors that I often feature in my banana breads. The ingredients are straightforward and the batter should come together in just a couple of minutes. It is baked in a standard loaf pan, which should be either greased before pouring the batter into it or lined with parchment paper to ensure that you get a good release after the bread comes out of the oven.

The loaf uses a generous amount of both mashed banana and sour cream. The banana, of course, adds flavor and moisture to the bread. Sour cream is known for adding richness to baked goods, as well as helping to tenderize them. I used full fat sour cream in this recipe and fat is almost always a tenderizing agent in baked goods. Sour cream is also slightly acidic – and you can tell right away from its signature tanginess – and that acidity can also be a tenderizing agent. This applies to ingredients like yogurt and buttermilk, as well!

Since this loaf has such a great texture – dense, tender and packed with comforting flavors. I often toast slices and top them with butter, honey or cream cheese. Heating up slices of the bread really brings out the aromatic spices. The bread isn’t overly sweet, so this is a better breakfast bake than a dessert one, however you can feel free to top off the bread with a dusting of coarse sugar before you put it into the oven if you would like to have a crisp, sugary top crust.

Sour Cream Banana Bread
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1 cups mashed banana (approx 3 medium)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9×5-inch bundt pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
In a large bowl, cream together butter with sugar until well combined. Beat in eggs one at a time, followed by the vegetable oil and vanilla extract.
Stir one third of the flour mixture into the sugar mixture, followed by the sour cream. Stir in another third of the flour mixture, followed by the mashed banana. Stir in remaining flour mixture and mix until no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 60-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the banana bread comes out clean.
Allow cake to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Serves 10-12.

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