Butter brickle is best known as a toffee-flavored ice cream. It has a buttery caramel flavor to it that can be downright addictive, especially if the brand of ice cream that you’ve chosen also happens to have bits of toffee scattered throughout. This Butter Brickle Banana Bread is even more addictive than the classic ice cream flavor, but it packs in all the toffee notes that make butter brickle so wonderful in the first place.
The bread starts with browned butter, which is butter that is cooked on the stovetop until it takes on a deep amber color and develops a nutty flavor. The nutty flavor is from the caramelization of the milk solids in the butter and it is what makes browned butter so delicious. When combined with brown and white sugars, browned butter takes on a rich toffee flavor that gives this banana bread a lot of complexity. As all good banana breads should, this recipe uses a generous amount of mashed banana to ensure that it has a dense, moist crumb and plenty of banana flavor in every bite. Before baking, I stirred in toffee bits to add a bit of texture and even more toffee flavor. It might just be one of the best banana breads I’ve ever had.
I highly recommend not only greasing your loaf pan before baking this bread, but also lining it with parchment paper. The toffee bits folded into the bread have a tendency to stick to the sides of the pan – especially if they happen to harden before the loaf has been turned out of the pan. No one wants to have part of their loaf stick in the pan (although the bread will still taste delicious), and a little extra prep will ensure that yours turns out picture-perfect every time.
Butter Brickle Banana Bread
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups mashed banana (approx 3 medium bananas)
1/2 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup toffee bits
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan and line the base with a small piece of parchment paper.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Cook butter over medium high heat until it begins to brown and takes on a deep nutty aroma, about 4-6 minutes. Remove from heat, scraping the browned bits out of the pan with a spatula, and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool slightly.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
When the butter has cooled, add in egg, sugars and vanilla extract and whisk to combine. Add in mashed banana and stir until well-incorporated. Stir in half of the flour mixture, followed by the buttermilk. Add in the remaining flour mixture and whisk until almost all the flour is combined. Fold in toffee bits. There should be no streaks of dry ingredients in the batter.
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached. Allow bread to cool in the loaf pan for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and turn loaf out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 1 loaf.
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Butter Brickle Banana Bread | My Berry Cake
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