I guess we all have bananas that turn black on our kitchen counters, and no one touches them anymore. In our family, those bananas are never tossed away! My husband likes to make banana milk that he then eats with his muesli or cornflakes. Sometimes, I make banana pancakes, but my favorite is banana bread.

I learned to love this simple baked good when I was an exchange student in the US more than 30 years ago. Gosh, time flies!

The recipe is very simple and fast to make. Today, I added some chocolate chips to the dough that I needed to get rid of. Sometimes, I like to top the bread with salted caramel sauce just for that extra decadent taste. We eat banana bread for breakfast because my Austrian husband loves to eat sweet stuff in the morning. As a Finn, eating sweets early in the morning is very unusual for me. But hey, after almost 30 years together, you adapt your habits.

I like serving banana bread with vanilla ice cream when it’s still a little warm. This cake/bread keeps in the fridge for about four days and, in our family’s opinion, tastes the best when reheated a little before eating.

The sugar in my banana bread depends hugely on the number and ripeness of your bananas. If the bananas you are using are black so very ripe, leave the sugar away or try the dough if it needs added sugar. We don’t like too sweet banana bread. Bananas themselves have so much sweetness already when they are very ripe. Also, chocolate or salted caramel sauce adds more sweetness to the banana bread.

So here you go; my basic banana bread recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 dl dark sugar (adjust the amount of sugar on how many bananas you use)
• 2 eggs
• 3 very overripe bananas, mashed plus 4 extra
• 3 dl flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 150 g butter, melted
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cardamom
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1.5 dl sour cream/cream/milk/buttermilk
• 200 g chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Whisk together the dark sugar and eggs until fluffy.
2. Add the mashed bananas.
3. Mix the flour, baking powder, and spices in a separate bowl, then add them to the batter.
4. Mix well in the melted butter and sour cream (or chosen dairy product.)
5. Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Pour the batter into a loaf pan lined with baking paper.
7. Press two whole overripe bananas into the batter and place one or two halved bananas on top. Depending on how big your loaf pan is. You can also skip the bananas inside.
8. Bake at 175°C for 40-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
9. Let cool slightly and serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.