Tag: banana recipes

Caramel Pecan Banana Brownies

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

If you love the flavors of chocolate and bananas together, these Caramel Pecan Banana Brownies are for you! These rich, fudgy brownies are the perfect decadent chocolate-banana dessert. The addition of caramel, pecans and sea salt gives them texture and balance. This recipe was a challenge to create because, while adding bananas to a brownie recipe does add moisture, it can also give the brownies a cake-like texture. That’s desirable in banana bread, but for brownies, most of us love a traditional fudgy texture. I solved that issue and I’m excited to share this fudgy, gooey Banana Brownie recipe with you!

These brownies are on the sweeter side, so I like adding dark chocolate chips or a combination of dark and semisweet chocolate chips. Adding the nuts to the top of the batter, rather than stirring them in, gives them a toasty flavor and helps maintain their crunch. An optional sprinkle of flaky sea salt adds the perfect finishing touch. They’re TDF served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Caramel Pecan Banana Brownies

Fudgy banana brownies with chocolate chips, topped with pecans, caramel and sea salt
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 12

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, cubed
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) avocado oil or neutral oil of your choice
  • 1 cup (200g) packed brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • ½ cup (45g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ cup (125g) mashed very ripe bananas about 1 medium banana
  • ½ cup (65g) all purpose flour
  • 1 cup (170g) dark or semisweet chocolate chips or a combination of both
  • ½ cup (55g) pecan halves or pieces
  • Caramel sauce, purchased or homemade
  • Flaky sea salt optional but recommended

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 325ºF (165ºC). Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a couple of inches of overhang.
  • In a medium-size light-colored saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and cook until it's deep golden and fragrant. When brown specks start to appear, remove it from the heat and immediately transfer the butter with the brown specks to a large bowl. Stir in the brown sugar and salt until well combined.
  • Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until well blended and most of the brown sugar is dissolved. Mix in the cocoa powder and cinnamon until thoroughly combined. Stir in the mashed bananas. Mix in the flour, just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  • Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan. Arrange the pecan halves on top of the batter or if you're using pecan pieces, sprinkle them evenly on top of the batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 20-25 minutes. (If you hit a melted chocolate chip with the toothpick, test again in a different spot.) Do not over bake!
  • Let the brownies cool in the pan. Remove the cooled brownies from the pan and drizzle with caramel sauce. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if desired.
Keyword brownies, caramel pecan banana

Double Chocolate Banana Bread with Maple Espresso Icing

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Double Chocolate Banana Bread with Maple Espresso Icing

Tender, moist chocolate banana bread loaded with mini chocolate chips, topped with maple espresso icing by Brownie Mischief
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients
  

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

  • 1 ¼ cups (160g) all purpose flour, sifted plus 1 teaspoon for the mini chocolate chips
  • â…“ cup (30g) Dutch process unsweetened dark cocoa powder, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ cup (100g) packed brown sugar
  • 6 tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (115m) vegetable oil or neutral oil of your choice
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • â…“ cup (78ml) buttermilk
  • â…” cup (160g) mashed very ripe bananas (about 2 medium bananas)
  • ½ cup (85g) mini semisweet chocolate chips

Maple Espresso Icing

  • 1 ½ tablespoons (23ml) maple syrup
  • 2-3 tablespoons (30-45ml) heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder
  • ½ teaspoon pure maple extract
  • 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar, sifted

Instructions
 

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the bottom of an 8 x 4-inch or 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease and flour the inside of the baking pan with a mixture of equal parts flour and cocoa powder.
  • In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon until well combined.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together, by hand or with an electric mixer, the brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and buttermilk until smooth and well blended. Stir in the mashed bananas. Stir in the flour mixture just until combined. In a small bowl, toss the mini chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon of flour, then stir them into the batter.
  • Transfer the batter to the loaf pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 45-55 minutes. If you hit melted chocolate chips, insert another toothpick in a different spot. You can also use an instant read thermometer to check for doneness. The internal temperature should be approximately 200ºF (95ºC). Let the banana bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove it from the pan and transfer it to a cooling rack.

Maple Espresso Icing

  • In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, 2 tablespoons of cream, the espresso powder and maple extract, until the espresso powder is dissolved. Gradually whisk in the powdered sugar and continue whisking until well combined. Add additional cream until the desired consistency is reached. whisk until smooth. Spread the icing over the top of the cooled loaf.

Notes

To find the loaf pan I used, click here.
Keyword banana, chocolate, loaf

Mini Banana Bread Puddings

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

These delightful Mini Banana Bread Puddings are a great way to use up leftover banana bread. At my house, we rarely have any leftover banana bread so I like to bake a special loaf of banana bread just for this recipe, a couple of days before I want to serve the bread puddings. If you need a banana bread recipe, try My Favorite Banana Bread, click here for the recipe. These personal bread puddings make an equally delicious brunch or dessert. You can top them with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream which makes them even more delicious.

 

Mini Banana Bread Puddings

by Mari Vasseur
Individual banana bread puddings with caramel sauce
Print Recipe
Cuisine American
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 6 1-inch thick slices banana bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • â…“ cup (66g) sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 large eggs
  • ¾ cup (177ml) whole milk
  • ½ cup (118ml) heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • â…› teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ cup (57g) melted butter
  • â…“ cup (37g) pecan halves
  • ¾ cup (240g) caramel sauce, purchase or homemade
  • Whipped cream optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 300ºF (150ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the banana bread cubes on the baking sheet. Bake until dry and slightly crisp, about 10-15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
  • In a small bowl, whisk the sugar and cinnamon together until well blended.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract, salt and the cinnamon-sugar mixture together until well creamy and well blended. Add the cooled banana bread cubes to the egg mixture and gently toss to coat. Let sit until all of the liquid is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180º). Generously butter six 7 or 8-ounce ramekins or a 6-serving jumbo muffin pan. (You can also line the bottoms of the ramekins or the muffin pan with parchment paper rounds to make them easier to release. The parchment isn't necessary if you want to serve the bread puddings in ramekins.) Place the ramekins on a baking sheet.
  • Spoon the banana bread cubes into the ramekins or the muffin pan. Drizzle with melted butter. Top each one with a few pecans.
  • Bake until the bread puddings are golden brown and the center is set, about 25-33 minutes. Let the puddings cool for about 5 minutes, then turn them out if you're using a muffin pan. Drizzle the warm bread puddings with caramel sauce and top with whipped cream if desired.

Notes

To find 7-ounce ramekins, click here.
To find 8-ounce ramekins, click here.
To find a jumbo muffin pan, click here.
Keyword banana, bread pudding