Banana Gingerbread with Vanilla Glaze

About a month ago, I got a great idea for a new recipe: Banana Gingerbread. I figured I'd take my favorite banana bread recipe, replace some of the sugar with molasses, add some spices, and I'd be good to go. Not so fast! It turns out the molasses makes things a little more complicated than that. The first time I made it, the flavor was great and it was moist, but it sank in the middle. Darn! I thought maybe I should buy some new baking soda and baking powder (they loose their effectiveness when they get too old) or increase them, to make sure they were giving the bread enough lift. Or maybe I should reduce the amount of molasses. I tried doing both those things, but I still wasn't getting it to rise in the middle. The whole loaf was rising, but not the middle.

I decided to do a little research. The key was in the baking soda and baking powder, but not in the way I originally thought. Now it's time for a little science. Baking soda reacts with acidic ingredients (buttermilk, lemon juice, vinegar, etc.) to produce bubbles, which then causes the baked goods to rise. Baking powder is a mixture of baking soda and a solid acid (cream of tartar). It turns out that molasses is more acidic than sugar. I was using baking powder, which already has an acid, and it was causing the loaf to rise too much and too fast. So basically, I had too much leavener. My solution was to use only baking soda and reduce the temperature so ensure a slower, more gradual rise. Reducing the temperature also helped because the molasses causes baked goods to brown faster.

I made those changes and it worked! The loaf rose in the middle (only slightly, but I'll take it) and had a great flavor. I love this bread and it's layers of flavor. When you first taste it, you are hit with the banana bread flavor which slowly turns into gingerbread. I knew a glaze would be the perfect finishing touch. I decided on a vanilla glaze, much like the frosting you would find on a gingerbread man cookie. It's my husband's favorite part of the bread. I'll admit, I love it too and save it for last when I'm eating a slice! This is a very cozy and satisfying banana bread, perfect for wintertime.

Here's a quick tip: To make mashing bananas a breeze, I use a pastry blender. Mash them right in the mixing bowl you will be using to make the bread to lessen the amount of dirty dishes!




Banana Gingerbread with Vanilla Glaze
makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:

Bread:
2 large ripe bananas
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Glaze:
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 Tbsp. milk
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325º F. Prepare a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. Mash bananas in a large bowl with a fork. Add brown sugar, molasses, vegetable oil, eggs and milk and stir until combined.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, baking soda and salt.
4. Add flour mixture to banana mixture and stir just until flour is incorporated. Pour in prepared pan and bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until it tests done with a toothpick.
5. Cool completely, and then turn out of pan.
6. To make the glaze, combine the melted butter, corn syrup and 1 Tbsp. milk. Add the confectioners’ sugar and stir. Add the vanilla and additional 1 Tbsp. milk or enough to achieve a drizzling consistency. Pour over cooled loaf.