Raspberry Banana Loaf

Loaded with fresh raspberries, this Raspberry Banana Loaf is the most moist and delicious loaf ever! Prepared with only a bowl and a spatula; no sifting or adding ingredients one at a time. Dump everything in a bowl, stir to combine, and bake. A loaf like this needs no frosting or fussing; serve thick slices with a hot tea or coffee!

RASPBERRY BANANA LOAF

The one constant, never-changing thing that happens in our house, is the buying of too much fresh fruit and berries. I’m responsible for the grocery shopping, and usually I’m very good at determining what we have and what we need. But, I can never get it right with fruit and berries. I tend to make loaves like this Raspberry Banana Loaf, whenever I have fruit or berries that are a little too ripe to eat, but still not ready for the compost bucket.

It’s really not my fault. I blame it all on McKenna and John.e. If there’s not enough fresh fruit and berries, they complain. When I buy a little extra, it sits until I have to find a way to use it up. For example, McKenna loves pineapple. I’ll buy one, cut it up and place it in the fridge. That way, it’s easy to grab a few pieces whenever the mood hits. One week, she’ll eat almost the whole thing. The next week, she doesn’t go near it. I can’t win!

So, faced with these particular raspberries that were just starting to lose their freshness, I baked them into a loaf. Usually, because I’m a food blogger and always have a well stocked fridge, I have to throw produce in the compost quite often. When it comes to fresh fruit and berries, it always bothers me. I try to use those up the best way I know how. They usually find their way into one of my crumble recipes, or into one of my muffins.

BANANA BREAD ON STEROIDS!

Banana bread is fine on its own, but I personally feel that banana bread without nuts, berries, fruit, or chocolate is like winter without snow, or a pen without ink, a book without words, or a wallet without money.  It’s awkward, lonely, and completely depressing. (I’m probably referring mostly to the empty wallet, but you get the idea!) 

That’s why, Dear Reader, I always include add-ins to my banana bread. It doesn’t matter if I’m baking this very easy version, or a more complex version.  Raspberries and bananas are a perfect pairing. Whenever I make a loaf with lots of add-in ingredients, I refer to it as banana bread on steroids.

Now, for this particular loaf, I used only raspberries. I had previously made one with chocolate for McKenna. This one was for John.e and me. When it comes to my cooking and baking, she doesn’t make too many requests, except for two. One, she can’t get enough of my homemade brownies. And, two, she doesn’t care for fruit, berries, or nuts in muffins or banana loaf.

I HAVE A SECRET INGREDIENT!

Before we all went into full lockdown mode for what seemed like an eternity, we visited with my sister. I brought one of my banana loaves with me. My sister loves sweets, so she made us a pot of coffee, and we chatted with a slice of banana loaf and a cup of hot coffee.

She was asking what was different about my banana loaf. At first, I didn’t know what she meant, because cinnamon in a banana bread is not foreign to me. When I listed the ingredients and got to cinnamon, she said, “Yes, that’s it!”

Dear Reader, I cannot even begin to explain the difference that a little bit of ground cinnamon makes to a banana loaf! It just adds so much flavour. It’s the kind of flavour that I can only describe and warm and comforting. It’s a flavour that you only get from your moms cooking and baking. You know what I’m describing!! It is worth noting here that if you don’t care much for cinnamon, just leave it out. You will still have a great tasting Raspberry Banana Loaf!

HERE’S WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1. Bananas – The bananas need to be really ripe. Here’s my general rule for selecting bananas ripe enough for baking – if the banana is more brown than yellow, it’s good. If you are using thawed, previously frozen bananas, they will be entirely brown.
2. Butter – I don’t know who said everything is better with butter, but they were right!
3. Sugar – I use a cup of sugar and I never find the loaf to be overly sweet. I have not tested this recipe with less sugar.
4. Egg – Along with the melted butter, the egg helps to bind everything together.
5. Flour – Nothing fancy, just all-purpose flour here.
6. Baking Soda – This will help to leaven the loaf.
7. Cinnamon – Because flavour town!!!
8. Raspberries – I’m using fresh raspberries, but you can use frozen too. When using frozen berries, don’t thaw them first. Add them to the batter right from the freezer. Also, when baking with frozen berries, I always find that I need to add a few extra minutes to the baking time.

HOW TO MAKE RASPBERRY BANANA LOAF

This is the easiest banana loaf recipe you will find! Let me tell you how easy it is to whip up. Prepare a loaf pan by coating the inside well with non-stick cooking spray. Add a tablespoon or two of flour and coat the inside of the pan with it. Move it about ensuring that the flour gets into the corners and creases of your loaf pan. (I’m using a Nordic Ware Fluted Loaf Pan.)

In a large mixing bowl, use a spatula to mix together all of the ingredients except the raspberries. There is no need for mixing the wet ingredients first or sifting the dry ingredients together. (I told you this was easy!)

Once a batter has formed, add the raspberries and gently fold into the batter. Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Tap the pan 3 or 4 times on the counter top to remove air bubbles and to ensure the thick batter has settled into the loaf pan’s corners.

Bake for 45-50 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the loaf. If the toothpick comes out clean, the loaf is done, if not, place the loaf back in the oven for an additional 5 minutes. Cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing. You can dust the top with confectioner’s sugar just for prettiness, but I think it’s gorgeous just the way it is!

WHERE DID YOU GET THOSE TEACUPS?

On average, Lord Byron’s Kitchen will receive about 80-100 emails and 40-50 blog comments every day. Of the emails, I’d have to guess that 25% of them are questions about where you can buy something you see in the photos, or if I could recommend a product. Whenever I use teacups in my photos, I’m always asked about them. You guys were so inquisitive about this teacup.

Our friends, Michael and Gloria, offered me the teacups when we were visiting with them last Christmas. They once belonged to Michael’s mom. I knew I would use them as a prop, so I gladly accepted about half dozen or so. I never like to use the same props over and over again, so when I saw a set of teacups on Amazon with six different patterns, I had to have them. I’m using two of them in this post.

In future, I’ll try to add links to props that I think you might be interested in, so that if you want them you can easily track them down. Here’s the link for the teacups. Now, on to the Raspberry Banana Loaf recipe!

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Raspberry Banana Loaf

Loaded with fresh raspberries, this Raspberry Banana Loaf is the most moist and delicious loaf ever! Prepared with only a bowl and a spatula; no sifting or adding ingredients one at a time. Dump everything in a bowl, stir to combine, and bake. A loaf like this needs no frosting or fussing; serve thick slices with a hot tea or coffee!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Servings 10 slices

Calories 257kcal

Author Lord Byron’s Kitchen

Ingredients

• 3 large over ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 cups raspberries

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Next, prepare a loaf pan by lining the sides with parchment paper. Alternatively, if using a loaf pan with a design, like the one in the photos, generously coat the inside of the loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray and dust with flour. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, use a spatula to mix together all of the ingredients except the raspberries.
• Once a batter has formed, add the raspberries and fold into the batter.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Tap the filled loaf pan 3 or 4 times on the counter top to remove air bubbles and to ensure the thick batter has settled into the loaf pan’s corners.
• Bake for 45-50 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the loaf. If the toothpick comes out clean, the loaf is done, if not, place the loaf back in the oven for an additional 5 minutes.
• Cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing.

Notes

Loaf makes 10 thick slices.

If using frozen raspberries, the loaf may take a few extra minutes to bake all the way through.

Nutrition

Calories: 257kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 288mg | Potassium: 213mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 251IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg