Brown Sugar Cinnamon Banana Bread
This banana bread recipe is by far my most-loved version. Classic banana bread spiced up with cinnamon and soft brown sugar delivers a loaf so good, you won’t be able to stop at just one slice. Guaranteed!
Mirella says: “The best banana bread recipe I have ever made. It turns out every time and that special topping just makes it more delicious. I was always searching for a better banana bread recipe but now I have found the one that I always stick to and my family love it.”
Ingredients and Substitutions
Banana bread is famous for being a quick recipe to throw together with ingredients you already have on hand. The softer your bananas, the better. I also use frozen and thawed bananas often as they make excellent banana bread. The combination of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) and baking powder adds plenty of lift and a beautiful brown colour to the finished bread while cinnamon and brown sugar makes sure every bite is utterly delicious.
- Butter. I used salted butter but unsalted butter can be substituted too.
- Brown sugar. I like muscavado sugar but any brown sugar will work.
- Eggs.
- Bananas. Make sure you use soft, ripe bananas. The softer and riper the bananas, the better the banana bread will be.
- Vanilla.
- Cinnamon.
- Flour. All purpose flour or cake flour work well.
- Baking powder.
- Baking soda.
- Salt.
- Add-ins: Feel free to add chopped pecans or walnuts. To make chocolate chip banana bread, stir in a cup of chocolate chips.
How To Make Cinnamon Banana Bread
- Make the batter: Preheat the oven and line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Cream together the butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, mixing well after each addition. Add the mashed bananas. Stir in the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined and the batter is smooth and creamy.
- Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Top with the cinnamon sugar mixture and place in the oven. Allow to bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.
How to store banana bread
Wrap baked and cooled banana bread in parchment paper or foil and place in an airtight container to prevent it from drying out. You can also keep your banana bread in the fridge for up to a week Allow to come to room temperature before serving.
Can you freeze banana bread?
Yes, banana bread freezes very well. Wrap baked and cooled banana bread tightly in a layer of parchment paper or plastic wrap and then foil. Place in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. You can also freeze individual slices of banana bread in the same way.
Video
Ingredients
- 125 g (½ cup) butter room temperature
- 200 g (1 cup) brown sugar I like muscavado sugar but any brown sugar will work
- 2 extra-large eggs
- 350 g (approximately 6 medium) bananas
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 250 g (2 cups) flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
for the topping
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC/350°F and grease and line a standard loaf pan (approx 20cmx12cm) with baking paper.
- Peel and mash the overripe bananas.
- In the bowl of a mixer (alternatively use a hand mixer and a large bowl), cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy then add the eggs one a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add the mashed bananas and vanilla extract and mix well. (At this point, the batter might look split and curdled but don't worry, the moment you add the dry ingredients it will come together. )
- Sift together the dry ingredients and stir into the batter.
- Transfer the banana bread batter to the prepared pan.
- Mix together the sugar and cinnamon for the topping and sprinkle over the banana bread.
- Place the tin in the oven and allow to bake for 45-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack before serving.
Notes
- If your banana bread is browning too quickly, cover it with foil half-way through baking.
Easy to put together and a great way to modify banana bread with more flavor. Love no white sugar in the recipe. Flavor is the best!😊
Hi again!
Second loaf with double the baking powder definitely rose more. I actually lowered the temp to 170C but after 45 minutes it still wasn’t quite done in the middle so I raised it back to 175C for another 6ish minutes and that seemed to do the trick!
Will definitely be adding this to my play list 🙂
Delicious! I have way more bananas lurking in the freezer than I can count so finding a recipe that uses 6 at a time is amazing!
My oven tends to run hotter in places so I lowered the temp to 175C and baked for 45 min in the middle of the oven. Skewer came out clean and the cake was moist and a big hit.
My only issue is that it didn’t rise as much as other recipes I’ve used and I wonder if there is a typo in the ingredients – 1 teaspoons (plur) baking powder. Should that be 2 tsp? I only ask because the amount of baking soda is the same and most recipes call for 1/2 the amount of baking soda to baking powder. I’m making another loaf now and have double the baking powder so we’ll see if there’s any difference in the rise. It’s raining so humidity levels are higher today too so that could also have affected the rise on the first loaf. Will report back!
PS, I’m also making a second loaf today because we’ve already managed to eat half of the first one!
I cooked this in a silicon cake pan at a lower temp[160c] for an hour possibly an hour an a half,I wasn’t clock watching, turning occasionally, until a skewer came out clean, it cooked to perfection. I often find loaf tins don’t seem to work with some Banana bread recipes and the edges get burnt long before the middle is .Great way to use up bananas when they are reduced in the supermarket ,mine cost 14p for a whole over ripe bunch. Perfect for lunch boxes, afternoon tea and using as a the sponge base for a trifle. It has gone in my recipe book.
Simply Delicious!!!
This center of the bread was still gooey when I took it out after 50 minutes and the bread collapsed when I took it out of the pan. I have never baked a banana bread that required 6 bananas though and I think that is the issue. Most recipes call for 3, possibly 4 at most. Im going to try again with less banana because we were very excited for this.
I always weigh the bananas as their sizes can vary drastically which is why I added the weight measurement as well.
This is by far the best banana bread recipe. I actually made muffins using this recipe with addition of a dollop of chocolate spread on top and they turned out amazing. Thank you so much for this ??????
So happy you like it so much!
I’ve cooked it according to the recipe. After 45 minutes I checked it with a skewer and it came out clean. An hour later I have cut into it in the middle and it is not cooked. Really disappointed. I have put it back onto the oven to see if I can salvage anything as it seems like such a waste of some lovely ingredients but I am gutted as I was so looking forward to this.
Hi Vicky. This is very strange – if the skewer comes out clean it’s never happened to me that the bread isn’t cooked inside. Especially after an hour’s resting time. I have tested this recipe countless times and that has never happened to me. At what temp did you bake the banana bread?
Hi this kinda happened to me I just wasn’t convince it was fully cooked – I lightly toasted my sliced bread before eating (can use toaster pockets in toaster) and it was delicious and even a bit crisp which was great with the brown sugar 🙂
The best banana bread recipe I have ever made. It turns out every time and that special topping just makes it more delicious.
I was always searching for a better banana bread recipe but now I have found the one that I always stick to and my family love it.
Thank you Alida for sharing this fab recipe.
Great recipe! Tastes delicious! The only thing I’d say is that I’m struggling to get the baking time right – I baked it at 350 F for 50 mins and the outside of it was definitely done / starting to go dry but the very middle of it is a bit gooey still… how do I make sure the middle is baked enough without the rest being too dry?
That is strange, I’ve never had that issue. Perhaps cover with foil half-way through baking to allow the center to cook all the way without the edges getting too crusty.
I made this banana bread..it baked 55 min at 350…I tested it and the tester was clean as a whistle.. after it cooled it sank in the middle…it’s gooey so we put it in the microwave for about a minute…still a bit gooey but it’s edible…I’ll make it again and cook longer… thanks for sharing..
Hey Alida, I’ve had my loaf in the over for nearly an hour and a half and it’s still wet in the middle, but I followed your recipe exactly, I’m scared of turning up the heat because I don’t want the top to burn, what should I do? 🙁
What temperature are you baking it at?
180, I took it out after 2 and a bit hours because the top was starting to get really dark. It’s still really stodgy though
That’s really strange. After 2 and a half hours at 180 degrees Celsius it should be completely burnt and over cooked.
I know it makes no sense! Well either way it tastes amazing, nothing was going to stop me from eating it!
I have made this twice, really tasty with a few extra ingredients 1/4 tsp ground cloves and 1/4 nutmeg. I also noticed 350 for allotted baking time does cause center to be gooey. I baked at 325 for 15 minutes and then put oven back to 350, for 50 to sixty minutes. I also only used 4 bananas,and drizzled on honey while warm.
Works a treat this recipe, thanks
Super lovely and gorgeously tasty but although my tin equated your measurements the mixture filled it right to the top and therefore overflowed when baking. Any suggestions as to what I did wrong?
It could be that your tin is more shallow than mine? Can’t think of another reason it would fill the tin that much unless the tin was smaller?
Hello, have you tried making this in a bread maker ?
I haven’t but I think it would work very well?
Can I half this and will it turn out?
No, I wouldn’t suggest changing the quantities.
Can u make muffins instead of bread with this recipe.
Yes, you can. Cooking time will just need to be adjusted.
Hi Christa, thank you for sharing this recipe! Do you use convention/traditional or convection oven mode to bake at 45mins? 🙂 What is the recommended duration for convection mode? Thank you!
H Alida, Can I use ordinary brown sugar in this recipe?
Thank you.
Absolutely!
The bread tastes great! Made the recipe this afternoon. Like the idea of putting soft bananas in a zip-type bag and smashing. The recipe took a bit longer to make than stated, but turned out so much better this time. Thanks for sharing!
Should have option to rate it 10 out 10, so yum
Thanks for sharing.