Cinnamon banana bread
Cinnamon banana bread bread is a delicious and moist loaf with a swirl of cinnamon running through it and a crispy cinnamon sugar topping.
Cinnamon banana bread is a delicious twist on our classic banana loaf. It takes the classic bake and adds a swirl of cinnamon through it and finishes it with a crispy cinnamon sugar topping.
Banana bread is one of my favourite bakes. It’s my go to recipe when we’ve got some over ripe bananas in the fruit bowl. This cinnamon banana bread is based on our easy Mary Berry banana bread recipe which I love as it’s so simple. It mixes everything together in one bowl which I think are the best recipes to do with children. The added cinnamon swirl and cinnamon topping takes it to another level without making it any more difficult to make.
How can kids help make this cinnamon banana bread?
This recipe used the all in one’ method which makes it a great, easy bake for kids to make. They can help to measure everything out before mixing it together in your mixing bowl. It also doesn’t even matter what order you add everything, although we tend to stick to the order they’re listed in the ingredients so we don’t miss anything out.
If you have really young children they might enjoy getting to peel and mash the bananas before adding them into the batter.
And the simple addition of the cinnamon swirled through the batter can easily be done by children as they add the batter to the baking tin.
How ripe should bananas be for banana bread?
When you’re baking, the riper the banana the better. They’re perfect to use once they’re brown or turning brown as they’re much sweeter. You can also use frozen bananas in the recipe.
How to ripen bananas quickly
You’re unlikely to be able to buy overripe bananas, perfect for this banana loaf in the supermarket, and if you don’t have any brown bananas in your fruit bowl, you can make your own. Bananas will ripen more quickly in a brown paper bag, so you can put a few inside one, fold down the top and wait a day or two. If you have an apple, pop that in and the bananas will ripen even quicker.
If you can’t wait a few days for your bananas to ripen, try baking them in the oven before you make your banana loaf. Pop them on a baking tray and baking them for 15-20 minutes at 150C / 300F. They’ll blacken and sweeten in the oven, and when you’re ready to use them, simply peel them a little and scoop out the fruit.
Can I freeze bananas for banana bread?
Yes. If you have overripe bananas but no time to bake, simply peel them and wrap them in cling film or pop them in a freezer bag. They’ll keep for a few months. When you’re ready to use them thaw them out before adding them to your recipe. You can chop the bananas up before you freeze them if you want to be able to use small portions – once you’ve chopped them freeze them on a baking tray for a few hours before putting them in a freezer bag.
Thawed bananas are a bit soft and watery, but that’s fine. It’ll make them easier for to mash to add your your banana loaf.
How do I know when my cinnamon banana bread is ready?
You can check whether your banana loaf is ready by inserting a sharp knife, or tooth pick into the middle. It should come out clean, or with just a few crumbs on it. If there is a lot of wet batter still on it when you check, pop it back in the oven for 5-10 minutes.
If it’s browning too much on top without being fully cooked through you can cover it in foil for the last 10 minutes or so.
What size is a 2lb loaf tin?
Our loaf tin was advertised as a 2lb tin and measures 23cm x13cm x 6cm. I’ve noticed not all 2lb loaf tins have the same dimensions so if yours differs from this, you may need to alter amount of cake batter you add to the tin. If your tin is smaller than ours, fill it 3/4 full of batter to prevent it from overflowing in the oven.
What should I use if I don’t have any self raising flour?
If you don’t have self raising flour, which is should easy to find in supermarket here in the UK but not always elsewhere in the world, you can swap it for an equal amount of plain or all purpose flour and add 2 teaspoons of baking powder and a generous pinch of salt.
What is baking spread?
Baking spread or Stork is just a margarine that’s great for using in baking. You can use it instead of butter in a loaf cake as it tends to make it lighter and fluffier. Here in the UK the cost of butter seems to keep rising so baking margarine or spread is a fantastic cheaper alternative. I still prefer to use butter in buttercream icing though.
How long does a cinnamon banana bread keep?
A cinnamon banana bread will keep in an air tight container for a few days. If you want to keep it for longer you can freeze it (wrapped well in cling film) for up to three months.
Why is my banana bread dense and chewy?
Banana bread is a loaf rather than a ‘bread’ so you don’t need to knead and mix the dough to develop the gluten. In fact, if you do over mix it it can lose it’s lightness and become too dense or rubbery. To avoid this, stop mixing it the batter together once it’s nice and smooth.
What else can you use overripe bananas in?
We use bananas in our baking all the time, so we’ve got lots of other recipes and other banana loafs you can use bananas with:
Banana bread muffins
Banana oat cookies
Banana and chocolate chip slice
Nutella and banana muffins
Banoffee cupcakes
Banana traybake
Chocolate chip banana muffins
Chocolate banana bread
Banana flapjacks
Or why not try one of these delicious loaves or cinnamon flavoured bakes:
Caramel apple cinnamon rolls
Cinnamon twists
Monkey bread
Ginger loaf cake
Lemon and blueberry loaf
Fruit loaf
Caramel and apple loaf
Madeira cake
Tea loaf
Raspberry and white chocolate loaf cake
Apple and blackberry cake
Orange drizzle cake
Carrot loaf cake
Useful equipment
You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make this Mary Berry banana loaf:
Digital scales
Freestanding mixer
Mixing bowl
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
2 lb loaf tin
Wire rack
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Ingredients
100g (½ cup) butter, softened or baking spread
175g (¾ cup) caster sugar
225g (1 + ½ cup) self raising flour
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
2 bananas
For the cinnamon swirl
50g caster sugar
1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
How to make cinnamon banana bread
Preheat you oven to 180C/160C Fan / 350F and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin.
Mix all the loaf batter ingredients together
Get your kids to measure everything (except the bananas and cinnamon sugar) out in a small bowl before adding it to a large mixing bowl or your free-standing mixer. You can add the ingredients in any order but if you stick to the order they’re listed you’re less likely to miss anything out.
Start by adding the butter, or baking spread if you’re using it. We used a baking spread rather than butter, but if your butter isn’t soft, give it a quick blast in the microwave – not enough to melt it, just enough to make it easier to mix.
Add the flour and sugar.
Get your kids to crack the eggs into a small bowl before adding them into your mixing bowl. We don’t add them straight in just in case any shell goes in. If/when it does simply fish it out with a larger piece of shell or a teaspoon. It will stick to that more easily than it will your finger.
Finally add the baking powder making sure your kids use their finger to level the teaspoon first so that you add just the right amount.
Using the k-paddle of your stand mixer or a hand held mixer mix everything together until you have a nice smooth batter.
Add the bananas
Young children can easily help prepare the bananas. If you use the very ripe bananas, they should be really easy to mash before you add them to your bowl.
Mix them in with a spatula until they are well combined.
Make the cinnamon banana bread
Start by mixing the caster sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.
Get your kids to add half of the banana bread batter into your prepared loaf tin.
Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar on, then add the remaining batter on top.
Using a sharp knife, toothpick or skewer swirl through the batter to disperse the cinnamon sugar.
Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar on top of your loaf.
Bake the cinnamon banana bread
Bake the cinnamon banana loaf for 50 minutes – 1 hour. It’s ready when it’s risen, turned golden brown and a metal skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Remove it from the oven and leave it to cool in the tin for a few minutes before removing it from the tin, taking off the baking paper and leaving it to cool on a wire rack.
Serve and enjoy.
Cinnamon banana bread
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Measure everything (except the bananas and cinnamon sugar) out and add them to a large mixing bowl or your free-standing mixer. You can add the ingredients in any order but if you stick to the order they're listed you're less likely to miss anything out.
- Using the k-paddle of your stand mixer or a hand held mixer mix everything together until you have a nice smooth batter.
- Mash the bananas then add them to your mixing bowl. Mix them in with a spatula until they are well combined.
- Start by mixing the caster sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.
- Add half of the banana bread batter into your prepared loaf tin. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar on, then add the remaining batter on top. Using a sharp knife, toothpick or skewer swirl through the batter to disperse the cinnamon sugar.Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar on top of your loaf.
- Bake the cinnamon banana loaf for 50 minutes – 1 hour. It’s ready when it’s risen, turned golden brown and a metal skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Remove it from the oven and leave it to cool in the tin for a few minutes before removing it from the tin, taking off the baking paper and leaving it to cool on a wire rack.
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