Baby Banana Bread Bundts

I am one of those apparently few who don’t really care for banana bread. I mean, I’ll eat it if I don’t have a choice, but it’s not something I go out of my way to get. I prefer apples. And it’s not an unpleasant food – I just don’t care for it. Cullen, on the other hand, loves the stuff. So when we had some bananas getting browner by the second laying on the counter, he asked me, “Can you make banana bread?” And when he got the look that says “um, duh, honey,” he shut up and put the banana in the freezer. About a week later, I took them out and started making banana bread so he would have something tasty and reasonably healthy to take to work with him. They were a stellar hit with him, and with his OIC, so good things all around.

(Recipe after the jump.)

Baby Banana Bread Bundts

Adapted from the recipe at  bell’alimento

Ingredients:

5 overripe bananas
2 cups AP flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
2 eggs
1 c sugar
2 capfuls vanilla
pecans, finely chopped, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda & salt. In a separate bowl, mash your bananas. In your mixer with the whisk attachment, mix the bananas & sugar until creamy (3-4 minutes). Add the butter, eggs & vanilla & mix well. Add in the dry ingredients (little by little you don’t want flour all over your kitchen) until well blended and fold in pecan bits. Spray your baby bundt pan with cooking spray. Pour the batter into baby bundts, about half full. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. NOTE: If you are using loaf pans or muffin pans you’ll need to bake them accordingly. Keep an eye on them you don’t want to overcook them. Let them cool slightly on rack before serving.

These babies (no pun actually intended) were moist, nutty and delicious, with only an overtone of banana. I forgot to add the nutmeg this go-round, but next time it will be a definite add-in, along with a little bit of cinnamon. I have four individual mini-bundts, and this recipe ended up with two batches. They puff up nicely, so if you fill them too full, you’ll end up with toadstool bundts like my mini pound cakes. The second batch, I covered the bottoms in brown sugar, and was rewarded with nice caramelized tops when I popped them out. Very tasty. So thanks, Paula, for throwing this recipe out there! We’ll definitely be letting more bananas go past their prime from now on.