Brown Butter Banana Strawberry Bread

Banana’s.  Strawberries.  Brown butter.  On their own, each of these are delicious and have a very distinct flavor.  They are wonderful in baked goods, breakfast dishes and perfect for a snack.  But lets talk about dessert for a minute.  First and foremost, I love dessert, I mean anything sweet but we’re going to get kind of flavor specific for just a second.  I am a huge fan of banana bread, banana milkshakes, banana whoopie pies, strawberry shortcake, strawberry cake and strawberry ice cream…just to name a few.  Honestly, I’m a fan of anything that incorporates any of these flavors. 

What is the common element in all of these?  They just incorporate one of these three ingredients.  So what could be better than just a banana dessert or just a strawberry dessert?  What about a dessert that not only includes bananas, but strawberries and brown butter?  To me, that sounds absolutely divine and that’s what been done with this bread!      

I’ve been a brown butter fan for a long time…if you haven’t tried it you must and I promise you will be addicted to!  Browned butter adds so much flavor to any dish, and it goes well with both sweet and savory dishes.  I love the nutty flavor it adds to this bread.  It gives it so much depth and adds a hint of caramel flavor as well.  This pairs well with the tartness of the strawberries and the sweetness of the bananas.

This bread is definitely sweet enough to be served as a dessert, but could easily be enjoyed as a snack or even breakfast.  I think this would also be wonderful as a muffin, and perfect for breakfast on the go.  I can’t wait to make some more!     

Brown Butter Banana Strawberry Bread

Ingredients:

6 oz (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/4 Cup plain Greek yogurt
1 1/4 Cups mashed bananas, about 3 ripe bananas
3/4 Cup chopped strawberries
1/4 Cup sliced strawberries
1 Tsp pure vanilla extract
2 Large eggs
2 Cups all purpose flour
3/4 Cups brown sugar
1 Tsp baking soda
1/2 Tsp salt
1/2 Tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 Tsp ground nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease and flour a 9 x 5 loaf pan and set aside.

For the brown butter-

Place butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  The butter will begin to crackle and foam as it melts.  Once the crackling subsides, the butter will begin to brown.  Swirl the butter around the pan as the butter cooks.  Once the butter is brown and begins to smell nutty, remove from heat and pour into a small bowl and set aside to cool.

For the bread-

Wash, chop and slice strawberries and set aside.  Mash the bananas and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and baking soda.  Stir in the brown sugar and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, yogurt and vanilla.  Add the cooled, brown butter and whisk together.  Fold in the mashed bananas.  Once combined, add the flour mixture and mix the ingredients together.  Fold in the diced strawberries, do not over stir.

Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan.  Place half of the sliced strawberries on the battter in the pan.  Spoon the remaining batter into the pan, and top with remaining sliced strawberries.

Place the bread in the oven and bake for 50 minutes (or 1 hour), until bread is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.  Let bread rest in the pan for 15 minutes; then invert on a wire rack to allow to cool completely. 

Place in an air-tight container to store. 

***This bread also freezes well.

Recipe source: slightly adapted from Joy the Baker who’s recipe was inspired by Amateur Gourmet