Flour's Famous Banana Bread Muffins (adapted)

Flour's Famous Banana Bread (Adapted)

Recipe courtesy Chef Joanne Chang of Flour Bakery in Boston

I have been meaning to make this bread for a long time, it comes from a very famous chef from a wonderful bakery here in Boston, Flour Bakery.  I always have ripe bananas stored in my freezer, peels on, just waiting to be used.  Don't worry that they turn all black, their heavy skins protect the delicious banana inside.  And let them sit outside of the freezer at room temperature, before removing the skins.  And you may need a knife to cut the top of the stem from the frozen banana, but then they peel easily.

This recipe calls for 3&1/2 bananas and I never understood why.  I mean, what do you do with the other half?  And I hate waste, so I decided to try upping the sour cream a bit to supplement the extra moisture with just using 3 bananas.  And it worked wonderfully in this recipe.  I also like to bake muffins, because I can share with friends instead of bringing the entire loaf.   So, I just baked them for 20-22 minutes and they came out moist and fluffy.
 
I also changed out the amount of nuts to only 1/2 cup, but added 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.  Just because I think a little hint of chocolate with bananas and nuts is nice.

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 3 very ripe, mashed
• 1/4 cup sour cream 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Beat sugar and eggs with a whisk until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Drizzle in oil. Add mashed bananas, creme fraiche, and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients and nuts. Pour into a lined loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

MUFFINS:
Spray and line 3 regular sized muffin tins.  I use a regular ice cream scoop and pour 1 scoopful into each.  Place in a 350 degree (F.), oven, middle rack for 20-22 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes and invert onto a plate.  Put muffins on cooling rack for 15 minutes, seal in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

 

Just a side note, if you care to know!  My cutting board was made by my youngest son in high school.  He is now 34, and I still love it as much as the first day he gave it to me.  He is a gifted woodworker and has even made some furniture.  But, this board was one of his first pieces and I cherish it!