Written by Alvin Tang | Photo Cred: Alvin Tang
I have this habit of buying bananas. I don't know what it is. You should always have bananas on hand, right? It's just one of those fruits that I feel like someone should always have...there. "Do you have any fruits?" "Yea, I have bananas." The problem is I never finish eating them! I get tired of them and before I can eat them all they just sit there until they're more brown than yellow. And what do you do with "bad" bananas? Well, you can throw them away because they're mushy (even though they're perfectly fine to eat) or you can take the dirt cheap bananas and mix them with dirt cheap flour, dirt cheap eggs and dirt cheap sugar to make something that costs not so dirt cheap at a cafe or bakery!
A while back I was binge watching the first season of Mind of a Chef and learned a trick from Christina Tosi, the head pastry chef at Momofuku Milk Bar, who was making a banana cream pie to freeze your ripe bananas. The riper the better because more starch has become sugar while freezing draws out the banana's moisture and concentrates all of that sugar. I tried this and the banana bread tasted amazing, but was gummy and overly moist. (Remember Tosi was using this for a creamy banana cream pie, not a fluffy banana bread.) I needed a solution and eventually found one on America's Test Kitchen. I couldn't believe I didn't think of it myself. What do you do with excess liquid? You strain it. Duh! But ATK took it one step further. They put the liquid in a saucepan and reduced it to a syrup and added it back into the batter to add extra sweetness and stronger banana flavor. It was brilliant.
Now this particular time, I was met with an interesting challenge. I didn't have a loaf pan. I mean I have a loaf pan, but it was hiding in a friend's basement where I had been storing things during my move to Bay Ridge. Logic would ask, "how do you make a loaf of banana bread without loaf pan?" What was there to use that was deep enough to make a bread and oven safe? What about the most versatile item in my kitchen? (which really should be in your kitchen if it isn't already.) A cast iron skillet! If people can make biscuits and cornbread in them, why not banana bread! Added bonuses: cast iron guarantees even heat, it's non-stick if seasoned correctly, and almost always creates a nicely browned caramelized crust at the edge when used for baking. After tasting the finished product. Honestly...
...I won't ever go back.
The Ingredients
- 4 frozen overripe bananas (black), thawed
- 1 unfrozen ripe banana
- 1 3/4 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
- 1 stick (8 tbsp) of unsalted butter, melted and warm
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- granulated sugar, for topping
Things you'll need
- 10" well seasoned Cast Iron Skillet
- small sauce pan
- wire cooling rack
- large mixing bowl
- small mixing bowl
- wire mesh strainer
- silicone spatula
- whisk
The Directions
- Place oven rack in the middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
- Mash your thawed bananas and half of the unfrozen banana in a bowl until slightly chunky and place into a strainer placed over your small mixing bowl for 10 min allowing all the moisture to drip out.
- Pour strained liquid into a small saucepan using a silicone spatula to get all of it and bring to a simmer and reduce for 5 min until liquid becomes a syrup. Place aside and allow to cool.
- In your large mixing bowl sift together flour, baking soda and salt.
- In the small mixing bowl combine your mashed banana pulp, melted butter, eggs, brown sugar, reduced banana syrup and vanilla extract.
- Pour your mixed wet ingredients into your dry ingredients in the large mixing bowl.
- Slowly fold ingredients together with a silicone spatula until almost, but not completely combined. Then add your walnuts.
- Finish folding your batter until walnuts are well incorporated and no flour is showing.
- Pour the batter into your cast iron skillet.
- Slice the other half of the unfrozen banana on the bias and arrange them nicely on the top of the batter in any design leaving at least an inch between slices allowing space of the bread to rise.
- Lightly sprinkle granulated sugar over everything to give a nice thin crust after baking.
- Bake for 45-50 min or until nicely browned turning halfway for even cooking. Check for doneness with a toothpick inserted in the center. If it comes out clean then bread is done.
- Take out and cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 15 min.
- Remove from the pan and cool for another 10 min.
- Enjoy warm with friends and family!
*Recommended with a nice generous spread of salted butter.