Recipe Background
Special Strawberry Banana Bread with coconut sugar offers a delightful tang and slices like a dream.
Just after getting my promotion to lead designer, I found myself knee-deep in new responsibilities and endless meetings. What I really craved in those hectic days was a comforting treat that still felt a little bit special. I remembered the loaf of banana bread my grandmother used to send me when I was away at college, with a quirky twist of added strawberries. Her secret ingredient was a touch of cinnamon, which added a hint of warmth to each bite. I wanted to recreate those cherished flavors while adding my evolving twist to it.
Diving into my pantry, I grabbed what I had on hand—avocado oil and coconut sugar—to bring a slightly nutty depth to the bread. I find coconut sugar imparts a gentle sweetness without overpowering the strawberries' natural tartness. Remembering to mash the bananas just right kept the loaf perfectly moist, while the Greek yogurt gave it a delightful tang. My kitchen filled with familiar scents as I folded in the red jewels of strawberries, making sure to dry them first so they wouldn’t weigh down the batter.
As the aroma wafted through the house, I knew this Strawberry Banana Bread aligned with my newfound love for balancing the chaotic and the comforting. When you sprinkle those freshly sliced strawberries atop before baking, they become little bursts of color and flavor. Letting the loaf cool in the pan for just the right amount of time makes it slice beautifully, a small but significant nod to patience in the pursuit of the perfect bite.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup avocado oil
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups bananas mashed
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups strawberries chopped and dried, plus more, to taste, freshly sliced, for topping and garnish
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Coat a 9x5-inch loaf pan with a nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the salt, and the cinnamon.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the oil, the coconut sugar, the eggs, the bananas, the Greek yogurt, and the vanilla and whisk together until combined.
- Add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredient mixture and stir until just combined. Avoid overmixing.
- Gently fold 1 1/2 cups of the chopped strawberries into the batter.
- Pour the batter in the prepared loaf pan and top with the extra strawberry slices.
- Bake the bread until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour-1 hour 15 minutes. Around the 45-minute mark, cover the bread with tin foil to avoid over-browning.
- Transfer the bread to a wire rack and let it cool in the pan, about 10 minutes.
- Invert the bread onto a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
- Slice and serve the bread garnished with the extra strawberry slices.
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