The Best Banana Bread

Remember when I said that these banana muffins were the best (and better than your's)? Well, I take that back. I found a different recipe, and it's awesome! Thanks to Epicurious, I made this heavenly banana bread. I just changed a few things, like reducing the sugar some and making one loaf with no nuts and the other with pecans (because I had no walnuts)- I actually preferred the loaf without the nuts. This bread is perfectly moist, perfectly sweet, and just so darn good. Try it, you'll love it.

And be careful with the oven, I badly burned my poor little thumb. I think I have more battle wounds from cooking than the kids who are bruised and scratched up from playing sports. I'm currently sporting a blister on my thumb and 2 fading scars are my right forearm from six months ago. That silly oven.

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour


• 2 teaspoons baking soda


• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 4 eggs at room temperature for 30 minutes (I set them out for 15 or so minutes while I was prepping the other ingredients)


• 2 cups sugar


• 1 cup vegetable oil


• 3 cups mashed ripe bananas (I used 7)


• 1/4 cup creme fraiche ( I used sour cream- who ever has 'creme fraiche' lying around?)


• 2 teaspoons vanilla


• 1 1/3 cups walnuts, chopped (I preferred the bread without nuts)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter 2 (9 x 5 x 3 inch) metal loaf pans, then dust with flour, knocking out the excess flour.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a bowl.

Beat together eggs and sugar in bowl of electric mixer at medium-high speed until very thick and pale and mixture forms a ribbon when beater is lifted, about 10 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add oil in a slow stream, mixing, then mix in bananas, creme fraiche (or sour cream), and vanilla. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in flour mixture and nuts gently but thoroughly.

Divide batter between loaf pans, spreading evenly, and bake in middle of oven until golden brown and a wooden pick or skewer comes out clean, 1 to 1 hr. 15 minutes. (The loaf without nuts took 1 hour and 5 minutes, whereas the one with nuts took about 1 hr. and 20 minutes. Make sure you don't underbake. No one likes a doughy banana bread. Also, I covered the banana bread about 17 minutes into the cooking process with a lightly greased piece of aluminium foil).

Cool loaves in pans on a rack 10 minutes, then turn out onto rack. Cool completely.

Banana bread keeps wrapped well in plastic wrap at room temperature for 2 days or frozen for 1 month.

-amanda