suemunzlinger's Recipe

Banana Bread America Test Kitchen

Category: Desserts

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/3 cup mascarpone *see note
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
4 large very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1½ cups)
1/2 cup chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (optional)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)



PREPARATION


Preheat oven to 350. Lightly coat a 8 1/2 x4 1/2 loaf pan with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a generous overhang on long sides. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.


Using an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat brown sugar, mascarpone, and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend after each addition and scraping down sides and bottom of bowl as needed.


Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas and mix just until combined. Fold in chocolate and/or walnuts, if using. Scrape batter into prepared pan; smooth top.


Bake bread until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 60 65 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let bread cool in pan 1 hour. Turn out bread and let cool completely (if you can resist) before slicing.

*note This is expensive and not something you might have in your kitchen.
To make a simple substitute for mascarpone cheese, blend together 8 oz. of softened cream cheese and 1/4 cup of whipping cream. Mix them together until the consistency is uniform, then measure out the amount you need. For the best flavor and texture, use full fat cream cheese
or:
Cream cheese and sour cream are readily available in supermarkets; mix the two together to make a substitute for mascarpone cheese. To make one pound of mascarpone substitute, blend 8 oz. of softened cream cheese with 8 oz. of sour cream. Use the full-fat variety of each ingredient so that the texture and consistency will be as rich as possible.
or:
Ricotta is a fresh Italian cheese similar to mascarpone; however, it is much easier to find ricotta at grocery stores. To replace 16 oz. of mascarpone cheese in a recipe, mix 8 oz. of ricotta cheese with 1 cup of heavy cream in a food processor. Process the mixture until the consistency is uniform.