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.
Wow soooo good!
Just put everything in food processor. Blitzed and done .
Loved it
Used dark brown sugar and only 5 bananas and. Only 2 large eggs.
Best recipe ever! An absolute winner.
Thank you for the recipe. I’ve used the recipe twice. The first one was a hit, moist but not dense. The trick is not to overmix the batter or it will be become dense. Love the flavour of the muscovado. I followed the amount of bananas which is 350g which was about 4 regular bananas sold in UK grocery stores. I’ve only used 2 large eggs because that’s what we regularly buy for home use, but the batter was still wet and it took over an hour to bake.
It nearly reminds me of the banana cake I’ve eaten in Madeira while on holiday, the flavour of molasses.
I only rate 4 stars because of the bake time and the topping did not turn out what the picture looks like, but it was still yummy. Thanks.
I have a great recipe for banana bread but I wanted to try something new, namely cinnamon banana and I didn’t feel like tweaking my own so I tried this one. I won’t say it’s bad at all. It’s fine, but I knew when I saw how many bananas it took it was going to be different . But I also had 7 BUNCHES of bananas to get rid of so this hit the mark. The texture is more like bread pudding, so if you’re into that wetter bread, this works great. Note: I added extra cinnamon and walnuts to the batter. I would definitely recommend the nuts to help break up the density if you prefer a more breaklike texture and eating it hot. It does get fluffier as it cools, so don’t make the mistake of cooking it longer than necessary.
Hi Brandi. That’s so strange, I never get a dense bread at all with this recipe. It always slices, like in the pictures, like a normal banana bread and isn’t overly moist in my opinion?
delicious add a bit of amaretto for adults
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THIS RECIPE! Had some frozen bananas stocked up, and with a quick search for a banana bread recipe I landed here. The brown sugar and cinnamon twist is SO. GOOD. I like to make these into mini muffins for our toddler and she can’t get enough! Same temp, but only leave in for 16-18mins. Poppable, easy snack! 🙂
YAY! I’m so glad you like this, it’s my favorite banana bread recipe. 🙂