I’ve been hooked on The Great British Bake Off ever since I found it on Netflix. It’s got me dreaming of cakes, pies, puddings, and breads. I decided to make banana bread after a whole bunch turned brown. I put them in the fridge for a few days until I had a free evening for baking.
When I Googled for a good banana bread recipe, one of the top hits was from one of my favorite food blogs, Simply Recipes. I’ve made Elise’s version of banana bread before, but I wanted something a little more exciting. I vaguely remembered pinning Deb’s Jacked-up Banana Bread from Smitten Kitchen, another favorite food blog. This recipe was exactly my speed–it calls for booze.
After reading through the recipe, I sent my husband to chase after our kid. It’s nearly impossible for me to work in the kitchen when he’s still awake. While pulling out ingredients, I decided to make a few modifications. I was running low on brown sugar, so I supplemented with white sugar. I also love walnuts.
I realized we were out of bourbon, but we had whiskey on hand. In true me fashion, I forgot to beat the egg before adding it in. Oops! I made sure to incorporate it thoroughly once I realized my mistake. I couldn’t tell if there was any difference.
I previously made Simply Recipes’ Chocolate Bourbon Cake, and for me it was a bit too much alcohol, but the tablespoon called for in Smitten Kitchen’s recipe didn’t seem to be enough either. I could hardly taste the whiskey, so if you want a boozier cake, I’d increase it to a quarter cup.
At the last second I decided to add in chocolate chips, because why not! The consistency was nice and thick but still manageable with a wooden spoon. I buttered a loaf pan and plopped the mixture right in. I took my loaf out of the oven right at 50 minutes because my testers were coming out clean, but next time I’ll leave it in a little longer. Toward the bottom middle it was a bit softer than I would have liked.
I could wait so I served two slices directly from the loaf pan before it was properly cooled and it was delicious! I loved the moist and chunky texture of this bread. The chocolate chips truly makes it more of a dessert or snack cake than a breakfast food. You can cover the loaf in plastic and it will keep for a few days on the counter (if you can manage not to eat it in a day), or in the fridge if you prefer.
- 3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed
- ⅓ cup melted salted butter
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon+ whiskey
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- scant ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- pinch of ground cloves
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and whiskey, then the spices.
- Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.
- Add the flours last, mix.
- Pour mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, or until a tester comes out clean.
- Cool on a rack. Remove from pan (optional) and slice to serve.