Looking for something special for Christmas morning? Everyone will love this Christmas banana bread. It’s better than fruitcake & more festive than everyday banana bread.
Our Christmas Banana Bread always has cherries & chocolate chips.
(My son loves the chocolate & cherries Black Forest cake and banana bread so he gets the best of both in this recipe.)
But, if you prefer, you can make it more like fruitcake and substitute walnut pieces for the chocolate chips.
Want more? See all of our banana bread recipes & baking tips.
Christmas Banana Cake
Festive holiday banana bread, perfect for Christmas morning munching with a hot chocolate.
Ingredients
- vegetable spray
- 1/3 c butter at room temperature
- 1 c packed light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 c mashed banana (2 large bananas)
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 c flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 c milk chocolate chips (1/2 pkg) or walnut pieces
- 1/4 c glace cherries, chopped (save a few cut in half for top of loaf
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan with vegetable spray - very important or banana bread will be very difficult to remove & probably break apart.
- Mash bananas by hand with a fork. (If mashed in a glass measuring cup, you'll know how much you have by volume.)
- Beat butter and brown sugar together until smooth.
- Stir in banana.
- Stir in egg and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir to combine.
- Add dry mixture to wet mixture and stir until evenly combined.
- Stir in chocolate chips (or walnut pieces) and cherries. Scrape bottom of bowl to combine evenly.
- Put batter in prepared pan. Level top. Place cherries on top, but don't push in. Bread will rise. (Don't make a pattern. A random spattering looks more natural.)
- Bake for an hour or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. (If you use a knife or fork to test, the centre may deflate a little.)
- Cool in pan for 30 minutes, then invert to turn out & then place right side up to cool completely. (You MUST cool for at least 30 minutes or it will fall apart when you try to remove it from loaf pan.)
Notes
If your banana bread loaf deflates in the middle, don't despair. Spread Nutella or chocolate frosting on the top and everyone will love it even more.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 253Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 216mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 2gSugar: 24gProtein: 4g
We provide nutritional information but these figures should be considered estimates as they are not calculated by a registered dietitian. Please consult a medical professional for any specific nutrition, diet, or allergy advice.
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Banana Bread Lover Gift Ideas
The Hit-monkey banana bread is the coolest banana bread ever!
It’s one of the awesome recipes in The Marvel Eat the Universe Official Cookbook, a great gift idea for a Marvel fan.
(But you can also find it at the Marvel blog for free. You’re welcome.)
Just 5 minutes from yearning to indulging with banana bread mug cake.
This is the perfect mug cake mug!
It gives you the banana chocolate chip mug cake recipe right on the mug so you know it won’t spill over because the mug is exactly the right size (16 oz).
(See our Banana Bread Mug Cake recipe that fits the regular-sized mugs you have at home.)
Want more? See all of our Banana Bread recipes.
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