Jumpstart Your Day With a Caffeine Spiked Banana Bread Loaf!

By Hadley Hammer

Here's Everything You Need to Make a 'Friendly Loaf!'

Looking to impress your friends or a new date on your next morning mountain bike ride or trip to the local crag?  Bring a loaf of caffeine spiked banana bread to share. It will surely make you the most popular member of the group.  Don’t worry, this recipe makes two huge loaves so you’ll still have one at home all for yourself. Like most baking recipes, it’s important to follow this one to a t. It’s worth it to sift all the dry ingredients, and you can check your instagram feed while blending the eggs and sugar for ten minutes (or if you really want to send at the crag, hand whip it for the ultimate forearm burn).

 

Ingredients

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 packets of Alpine Start

4 large eggs at room temperature for 30 minutes

2 1/3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

3 cups coarsely mashed very ripe bananas (6 large)

1/4 cup crème fraîche

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/3 cups walnuts (4 ounces)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 2 (9- by 5- by 3-inch) metal loaf pans, then dust with flour, knocking out excess.

Sift together 3 1/4 cups flour, baking soda, cinnamon, Alpine Start and salt into a bowl.

Beat together eggs and sugar in bowl of electric mixer at medium-high speed until very thick and pale and mixture forms a ribbon when beater is lifted, about 10 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add oil in a slow stream, mixing, then mix in bananas, crème fraîche, and vanilla. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in flour mixture and walnuts gently but thoroughly.

Divide batter between loaf pans, spreading evenly, and bake in middle of oven until golden brown and a wooden pick or dry stick of pasta comes out clean, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Cool loaves in pans on a rack 10 minutes, then turn out onto rack. Turn loaves right side up and cool completely.

Slice and enjoy with a fresh cup of Alpine Start

*Author's Note: adapted from Epicurious.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hadley Hammer is a professional skier and food enthusiast based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. While she's not chasing snow filming with Teton Gravity Research, you can most likely find her in a kitchen or searching out the best croissant.