Banana Gingerbread
I love making loaf cakes. For me they are so simple to put together. They keep for a while in the refrigerator, I can freeze them if I want to and they also make really great gifts. Check out my lemon pound cake and whole wheat banana bread recipes.
I have to admit that I actually have never made one of those large cakes with icing or frosting. When I think about it, it just seems like a whole lot of work LOL. At one point in time I actually wanted to start a business selling all kinds of loaf cakes. Not sure what ever happened to that idea 
Anyway, so whenever I have overripe bananas on the counter, unlike my husband, I never want to throw them away. My husband will throw them away any chance he gets just because he doesn’t like the sight of ‘em. For me it just seems liked a waste. So I peel them and put them in Ziploc bags and chuck them in the freezer (before he notices them). So as a result, our freezer is packed with lots of little batches of frozen banana waiting patiently for mommy to use them to make banana bread
This time around I wanted to try something different. I’ve been wanting to make gingerbread for the longest time so why not combine the two, gingerbread and banana bread. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. The sweetness from the banana and molasses, the ginger and cinnamon and all the other spices complemented each other so well. And the aroma, your home will smell like Christmas
The loaf was moist and had a texture similar to cake. I added a secret ingredient – instant coffee granules which gave it a rich flavor and made it taste like chocolate. My husband actually thought I put chocolate in there. It was that good.
I did not add any milk so this loaf is dairy free. Enjoy it with a nice cup of tea or coffee. Tastes better late at night when everyone else has gone to bed and you just want some time to yourself to catch up on your favorite TV show LOL ( which for me is ‘Queen Sugar’ on OWN – just in case you wanted to know)
Banana Gingerbread
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1 tbsp. ground ginger
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. nutmeg
- ¼ tsp. allspice
- ¼ tsp. ground cloves
- 1 tsp. instant coffee granules
- ½ tsp. salt
- 8 tbsp. butter
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup dark molasses
- 2 large eggs
- 2 ½ overripe bananas mashed
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F/165 degrees C. Grease a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan and set aside.
- Sift the flour, ground ginger, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ground cloves and the instant coffee granules in a separate bowl and set aside.
- Using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the dark molasses and mix again until combined.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix well. Add the mashed bananas and vanilla extract and mix again for about a minute until everything is well combined.
- Fold in ½ of the dry ingredients using a spatula until combined. Fold in the other half. Do not over mix.
- Transfer the mixture to the greased loaf pan and bake for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick / cake inserter comes out clean.
- Let it cool in the loaf pan for about 20 minutes before removing it.
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