The Moistest Banana Bread Ever!

This is seriously the moistest banana bread ever. No joke. My sister actually found this recipe and we decided to give it a whirl. In fact, I also tried to give her a guest spot on my blog and have her write this post, but she said noooo. Why? I don't know. She's weird. She's probably one of the best, if not, the best writer I know. Definitely better than me, that's for sure. Maybe I'll be able to convince her to do a guest spot some day (you can't run forever, Jess!). Side note - now that I think about it, I don't think I ever showed you a picture of us. I've showed you the captain, but not my sister. Oops, my bad. Here is some sisterly love from the Giants game this past weekend. We're total gamerbabes.

sister love.

Back to moist and delicious banana bread. The two ingredients that make this the best banana bread you ever put in your mouth is coconut oil and cream cheese.  This bread is definitely not low-fat or low calorie, but it's super addicting and seriously so moist. Don't you just hate when you get a dry and crumbly piece of banana bread? I do and so does my sister. Hence the search for the best banana bread in town. We love our normal go to banana bread (from Better Homes and Garden) with a crumbly brown sugar topping, but we needed something new to spice it up. This bread is dense, moist and deadly delicious. And by deadly delicious, I mean you will eat the whole loaf. Or half of a loaf. Okay, a whole loaf. Who am I kidding here.

Now, you might be wondering what the heck coconut oil is. I am willing to bet this is not next to the canola or olive oil in your panty. Am I right? Coconut oil has become very popular in the cooking world recently. And to be honest, this is the first time I've ever used it. No joke. What exactly is it? Coconut oil is edible oil that is made from the meat of the coconut. It has a slightly nutty taste and although it used to get a bad wrap for being high in saturated fat, it actually has a lot of health benefits. You can use it in baking, for cooking, for medicinal purposes (it's a natural antibiotic!) and you can even fry with it (it can withstand very high heat). I've also heard it's a great skin moisturizer. I don't think I'll test that one out though. Sorry. I'll stick to my lotion. For further information on coconut oil and it's benefits, check this article in the New York Times.

ingredients

whipping the cream cheese & coconut oil

adding in the brown sugar

peeling bananas

a dash of nutmeg

before

after!

Super Moist Banana Bread (slightly adapted from http://chezus.com)

1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
1 cup cream cheese, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 bananas, medium to large sized ones
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

a dash of nutmeg
pinch of salt

 

Heat oven to 350.  Line a loaf pan, with parchment paper.  Sift the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and set aside.  In a mixing bowl, beat the coconut oil on medium speed, until soft, about 7 minutes.  Add the cream cheese, and continue beating on medium speed, for 3 minutes.  Add the sugar, and beat on medium speed, until fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Add the egg and bananas, mix until combined.  Add the dry ingredients, mix on medium speed, until combined,  about 3 minutes.  Pour into the loaf pan.  Bake for 45 – 55 minutes.  Each oven is different, start checking at 45 minutes.  You want the bread to be golden brown, and a knife will come out clean, when you slide stick it into the middle of the loaf.  Serve.  Eat.

The original recipe called for no spices, but banana bread must have cinnamon! If you are not a cinnamon fan, feel free to remove it and the nutmeg. Trust me though, you'll want to leave it in. It makes this banana bread that much better. YUM!