Brown Butter Banana Bread with Toasted Walnuts

⏱ 85 min · Serves 10

Browning the butter first turns an everyday loaf into something nutty and caramel-scented. Very ripe, freckly bananas do the heavy lifting, and the crackly sugar top is worth the extra minute of effort. Best eaten warm, in thick slices, with a slab of cold butter.

Per serving: 355 kcal · 6.0g protein · 45.0g carbs · 18.0g fat

Ingredients

• 115g unsalted butter
• 4 very ripe medium bananas (about 400g peeled), mashed
• 150g light brown soft sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 75g full-fat natural yoghurt or sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 225g plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 80g walnut halves, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp demerara sugar, for the top

Method

1. Heat the oven to 175C/155C fan/350F. Grease a 900g (2lb) loaf tin and line with a strip of baking paper.
2. Scatter the walnuts on a small tray and toast in the oven for 6-7 minutes until fragrant. Set aside to cool.
3. Melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat, then keep cooking, swirling often, for 4-5 minutes until it foams and the milk solids turn golden brown and smell nutty. Pour into a large bowl, scraping in every last brown fleck, and let cool for 5 minutes.
4. Whisk the brown sugar into the warm butter, then the eggs, one at a time, followed by the yoghurt and vanilla.
5. Stir in the mashed bananas — leave a few lumps for texture.
6. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt over the top. Fold with a spatula just until no dry flour remains, then fold in most of the walnuts.
7. Scrape into the tin, level the top, and scatter over the remaining walnuts and the demerara sugar.
8. Bake for 55-65 minutes, until well risen and a skewer in the centre comes out with only moist crumbs. If it darkens too fast, tent loosely with foil after 40 minutes.
9. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then lift out onto a rack. Serve just warm, or cool completely and keep wrapped for up to 4 days.