It took us quite a while, but it finally feels like autumn here in the South. And I don’t know about you, but the second leaves start falling I start thinking of all the things I want to bake! This year I was having a craving for pumpkin bread, but also had a ton of bananas and was thinking of making banana bread. Then I thought…why not have it ALL? And so this hybrid was born.
I experimented by combining my favorite pumpkin bread recipe with a couple banana bread recipes that I like and the result is WOAH. The flavors of the banana and pumpkin compliment each other SO well. The fall spices come through but aren’t overpowering, and the bread is perfectly soft and moist. Just writing this is making me want to get another piece STAT!
This is a true quick bread, so it doesn’t involve any complicated steps or fancy equipment! Here’s the simple recipe:
- 3 c. all purpose flour
- 1 t. salt
- 1 t. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 t. ground nutmeg
- 1/2 t. ground cloves
- 1/4 t. ground ginger
- 1 1/2 t. baking soda
- 3/4 t. baking powder
- 1 c. brown sugar, loosely packed
- 1/2 c. white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 c. pumpkin puree
- 1 c. ripe bananas, mashed (about 3 bananas)
- 1 t. vanilla
- 3/4 c. canola oil
- 2/3 c. pecans, roughly chopped (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a loaf pan with nonstick spray. You can use an extra large pan (which is what I used here, 11″ x 5″) or 2 smaller 8″ x 4″ pans.
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and sugars.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, banana, vanilla, and oil.
- Pour wet mixture into flour mixture and fold ingredients together just until combined, then fold in pecans. Don’t overmix!
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 60-75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Baking time will depend on the size of your loaf pan(s).
- If the top crust starts to get too brown at any point during baking, cover it loosely with aluminum foil and continue baking.
- When the bread is done, remove from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before removing it to a wire rack to cool completely. Slice and enjoy!
If you make this, prepare for your house to smell like magic as it bakes! And prepare to want to eat the entire loaf by yourself. I’m not judging you if you do because I’ve already eaten like a third of the loaf pictured here…
I really have missed you guys. I’ve missed blogging. There’s a plenty long story to explain why I’ve been gone SO long, but that’s a catch-up session for another day. But these next two pictures sum up my current situation pretty well.
😀 A picture says a thousand words, right? It’s hard to do much of ANYTHING productive when you’re trying to keep a one-year-old alive, trust me!
Thanks for reading!
