by Aria HsiaWith temperatures cooling down and winter just around the corner, curling up with a good book while sipping hot tea seems like the perfect activity on a cold rainy day. Pair it with a slice of banana cake, and the world suddenly seems much better. While I love to bake, I am not the biggest fan of spongy, fluffy cakes. Something about the light, airy texture just doesn’t satisfy me, and whenever my friends put in requests for me to bake cakes, I could never enjoy them myself. To solve this problem, I resolved to baking pound cakes and banana bread. Rather than a conventional sponge cake or a solid loaf of bread, banana bread falls right in between — it has the softness and sweetness of cake, yet the density of quick-bread (bread not leavened with yeast). Banana bread is easy to make, sweet, dense, moist, and full of flavor — what’s not to like? It’s also the perfect afternoon snack to pair with a cup of coffee, or a great on the go breakfast to grab on your way out the door.
There are thousands of different recipes out there, and very confusing for someone like me, who only bakes as a hobby. Thus, I set out to find the top three best banana bread recipes on the internet. I will be ranking these recipes based on the level of skill, taste, and overall audience reception. Whichever recipe fulfills all of the criteria above, will be crowned the title of best banana bread. Recipe One: “Best Banana Bread” from Genius Kitchen The first recipe I tried was from Genius Kitchen, an online platform that allows users to share their favorite recipes through videos. The recipe called for:
I had used this recipe before, but I always used half vegetable oil, combined with half the amount of butter. This recipe has never failed me before, but for some reason, I noticed the banana bread browning on top around 40 minutes into baking. I was slightly worried that it would be over baked and burnt on top, so I took it out of the oven once it had baked for 50 minutes. That was a mistake on my part, as once I cut a slice after letting the banana bread cool down, I noticed the center was still a bit sticky and slightly underbaked. I stuck a few of the slices back into the microwave for a few seconds, and they were cooked immediately. I suspect the browning on top had something to do with the replacement of brown sugar, as brown sugar does tend to result in baked goods being darker in color. This recipe was well-received by my friends, especially those who had a sweet tooth and loyal fans of my baked goods. One classmate claimed he tasted longan, though I’m guessing it was just the vanilla extract. Another thought the butter was too heavy and overpowered the taste of bananas. Overall, it was well received among my friends and family alike. This recipe receives a score of 3 out of 5 stars, as although the flavor was good, it was too greasy and difficult in terms of grasping the baking time. Recipe Two: “Healthy Banana Bread” from Cookie and Kate For my second recipe, I opted for a healthier recipe that claims to be “sugar-free” and lower in calories. The second recipe I attempted was from a food blog called “Cookie and Kate”, run by a self-taught photographer and cook from North Carolina. Her website features recipes that promote whole foods, and all of her recipes are vegetarian-friendly. The recipe is as below:
I split the loaf in half, and took one half to class while I left the other half in the department club room, where students come and go in between classes. I left a note that encouraged them to grab a slice and to leave me feedback. My classmates enjoyed this recipe much more than the previous one, although a few classmates weren’t fans of the cinnamon. Opinions on the cinnamon seemed to be split down the middle — people either loved it, or hated it. The nuts were a good addition, and many of my friends recommended I add even more next time. According to my professor, he was surprised that the banana bread was not as sweet as he expected. It seems that substituting honey for sugar was a good move, as it contributed to the taste without making the banana bread sickeningly sweet. The final verdict on this particular recipe is 4 out of 5 stars, as the flavor was good and the ingredients definitely contributed to the taste, but the texture was slightly too dry for my liking. Recipe Three: “Vegan Banana Bread” from BBC Good Food For my final recipe, I wanted to go above and beyond my usual baking comfort zone by tackling a vegan recipe. I am used to baking with butter, milk, and eggs, so attempting to bake without those ingredients is something quite new to me. More and more people are becoming health-conscious, so it seemed like a good idea to practice making recipes that target unique diets. To my surprise, this recipe had the simplest ingredients out of all three. I was expecting some peculiar replacements for ingredients such as milk and eggs, yet the recipe just completely excluded them. The recipe calls for:
The resulting banana bread was far more solid and bread-like than any of the other banana breads. It looked just like a loaf of toast when I first pulled it out of the oven. I noticed that the loaf was much shorter than the others, and the top had the most even coloring. Once the loaf cooled down, I helped myself to a slice and immediately fell in love with this recipe. The texture of the banana bread is soft but dense at the same time, and I was reminded of a traditional Chinese cake called Fa Gao (發糕) which is steamed instead of baked to achieve the chewy texture. As for flavor, it maintained the right balance of sweetness, and I could taste hints of the nuts and cinnamon coming through the taste of banana. My friends were shocked when I told them that this recipe was vegan, as I think they were expecting all vegan food to be bland and dry. However, this recipe completely opened my eyes to a new world of vegan baking that I had never explored before. I have nothing but praise for this recipe, and I’m ranking it with 5 out of 5 stars. In conclusion, I’m giving the title of Best Banana Bread to the third vegan recipe, for its simplicity in ingredients yet outstanding flavor. I’m sure my friends much preferred the second recipe, but as a baker, I am thoroughly impressed and satisfied with the results of the vegan recipe. I encourage you to attempt any of the recipes above to decide your own choice of winner, but after three weeks of baking and three loaves of banana bread, it’s safe to say that I won’t been approaching bananas for a while. a
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May 2024
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