Sour Cream Banana Bread

"Bananas are more like flowers....you can't mess around with them."

~Richard Benson

What can I say?  After all the decadence of the holidays, it was time for something simple. This was the first recipe I penned...way back in 1987.  Following the debut of the blog in July, it was also one of the first recipes requested.  The post requires a photo, so I had to whip up a loaf.  It was then that I noted a couple things awry with the recipe.  The loaves came out flat on top.  I wanted them to have a pretty mounded top. The bread was always so moist and delicious that I hadn't cared before.  All other banana breads I'd tried were either tough or dry, leading me to develop my own version.  This one proved really tender, so moist and not overly sweet.  It makes a great toast, too....crispy on the outside and all warm cake on the inside.  Spread with butter and paired with a tall glass of cold milk, and you've got something to crave.  I just needed to tweak the recipe a bit.  

Finally...a mounded loaf

During the 6 month tweaking time; a revelation....freezing the ripe bananas.  Now and then I caught a glimpse of black bananas in the freezer at a friend's house.  I was skeptical.  But what with the economy, and my layoff etc., I've become more mindful of waste, so I started freezing my uneaten bananas when they started to get ripe.  Yes, they turn black and look gross, BUT, when they thaw out, you just pop open the end and let the thawed banana (they are not black inside) fall into a bowl.  No need to mash.  Just stir and measure and they are perfect for banana bread, in fact, I think they make the bread even better!  

Sour Cream Banana Bread
(Makes two 9x5x3 inch loaves)


1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 2/3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon, plus 2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 cups mashed ripe bananas (7-8 bananas) (or thawed, previously frozen bananas, stirred) 


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt butter.  While butter is melting, grease two 9x5x3 inch loaf pans.  In a large bowl, mix butter and oil with sugar.  Stir in eggs, mashed bananas and vanilla, mixing well.   Stir in sour cream.   In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add to the wet ingredients and stir just until moistened.  Divide batter evenly between the two pans.  Bake for 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees.  In my oven, the loaves took the full 60 minutes.  Do not remove until you test the loaves by inserting a wooden skewer into the middle of the loaf.  If it comes out clean, the bread is done.  Cool loaves on a rack for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of pan and turn out.