Vanilla Bean Banana Bread French Toast

This banana bread is very different from any other banana bread that I have ever made or tasted.  I liked it but my son said he did not like the consistency.  I thought that it might work better if I made it into a french toast.  It tasted great!  I also think that I will make a strawberry sauce for the french toast.  To make the banana bread into a french toast, I just mixed together one egg with a 1/4 cup of cream and soaked each slice in the egg mixture. Then I fried the soaked bread in a hot pan with a teaspoon of butter melted in the pan for each slice of bread. I did not add any vanilla because I thought the bread had enough vanilla in it but I think you could add some if you wanted to.  I also wanted to mention that I purchased the vanilla sugar from Amazon.com instead of making it myself. Next time, I would try to make my own vanilla sugar.  It can't be that hard and it would probably be less expensive.  

Vanilla Bean Banana Bread

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup vanilla sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed banana (2-3 medium)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

To make vanilla sugar: Scrape half a vanilla bean into a container of 2-3 cups sugar. Stir well, cover and let stand until vanilla is infused in the sugar. Can be stored for months in an airtight container.

Preheat oven 350F and lightly grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

In a large bowl, whisk together vanilla sugar and eggs until well combined, then whisk in the mashed banana, milk, butter and vanilla extract. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until just combined, making sure no streaks of flour remain. Pour batter out into prepared baking pan.
Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, with only a few moist crumbs attached.

Turn loaf out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Makes 1 loaf

www.bakingbites.com

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Blueberry Lemon Loaf

I made this loaf yesterday.  I actually made 3 small loaves.  The only change I made was to reduce the baking time to 45 minutes.  This loaf is more bready than cakey.  It is very good even without the glaze.

Blueberry Lemon Loaf

Ingredients:

Glaze:
1 lemon
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

Loaf:
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
2 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup milk
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups frozen blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
2. Grate the zest from the lemon onto a small plate.  Cut the lemon on half, and squeeze the  juice from both halves.  Make a topping by whisking together 1 teaspoon of the lemon zest, 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice, and the confectioners' sugar n a small bowl.  Set aside.
3. Whisk together the white sugar, melted butter, eggs, sour cream, the remaining lemon zest, and the remaining lemon juice in a large bowl until evenly blended.  Stir in the milk and set aside.
4. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate large bowl.  Remove 3 tablespoons of the flour mixture and set aside.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, pour the milk mixture into the well and stir the batter just until combined.
5. Fold the frozen blueberries into the reserved 3 tablespoons of the flour mixture, then fold the blueberries into the batter.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes.
7. Remove from oven, immediately poke holes all over the top of the loaf with a toothpick, and pour the topping evenly over the loaf.  Cool the pan for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook