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Perfect One-Bowl Banana Bread: Easy Dinner Party Dessert

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This one-bowl banana bread is the ultimate easy dessert for dinner parties. It’s impossibly moist, has a caramelized crust, and comes together with minimal effort, making you look like a rockstar host.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 large very ripe bananas (about 1½ cups mashed)
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Optional mix-ins: ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans, ½ cup chocolate chips, or ¼ cup shredded coconut

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Position the rack in the center of the oven.
  2. Prepare your loaf pan. Cut a piece of parchment paper about 8 inches wide and 16 inches long. Press it into the pan so the excess hangs over the long sides. If you don’t have parchment, generously butter the inside of the pan and dust it with flour, tapping out the excess.
  3. Mash the bananas. Peel the bananas and place them in your large mixing bowl. Mash them with a fork or potato masher until mostly smooth with a few small lumps remaining.
  4. Add the melted butter. Pour the slightly cooled melted butter over the mashed bananas and stir until combined.
  5. Add the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Crack the eggs directly into the bowl, add the sugar and vanilla, and stir everything together until smooth and well combined.
  6. Add the dry ingredients. Sprinkle the flour, baking soda, and salt over the wet mixture. Stir gently with your spatula or wooden spoon until just combined. Stop mixing as soon as you no longer see streaks of flour.
  7. Fold in any mix-ins. If using nuts, chocolate chips, or coconut, gently fold them in with a few strokes of your spatula.
  8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Use your spatula to scrape every last bit of batter into the pan. Smooth the top gently.
  9. Bake for 55-65 minutes. Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake until the top is deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. If the top is browning too quickly after 40 minutes, tent the pan loosely with aluminum foil.
  10. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Set the pan on a cooling rack and let it rest.
  11. Remove from the pan and cool completely. Use the parchment handles to lift the bread out of the pan and transfer it to the cooling rack. Let it cool completely before slicing—about 1 hour.

Notes

Use very ripe bananas (heavily speckled or mostly brown) for best flavor and moisture. Do not overmix the batter to avoid tough bread. Let the bread cool completely before slicing to prevent crumbling. The bread tastes even better on the second day. For a dinner party, mix the batter in the morning and refrigerate; bake when guests arrive.

Nutrition

Keywords: banana bread, one-bowl banana bread, easy banana bread, dinner party dessert, moist banana bread, chocolate chip banana bread, nutty banana bread

Find it online: https://evabake.com/perfect-one-bowl-banana-bread-easy-dinner-party-dessert/