Caramelized Banana Bread

Caramelized bananas, rum, and coconut make this Caramelized Banana Bread anything but ordinary. This rich, melt-in-your-mouth recipe is finished with homemade cream cheese frosting to make every bite sensational!

Jump to:

• ⭐ Why You’ll Love This Recipe 
• ❓ Why caramelized bananas?
• 🍴Ingredients
• Best Substitutes for Bananas in Baking
• 📖 Step by Step Instructions
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Expert Tips
• 💭 Recipe FAQs
• More sweet dessert and enriched breads to try
• Coconut, Rum & Caramelized Banana Bread
• 💬 Comments

⭐ Why You’ll Love This Recipe 

This isn’t just any moist banana bread recipe. The ultimate trio of caramelized bananas, rum, and coconut adds richness and density to this Caramelized Banana Bread, making it incomparable to any other. The soft, tender crumb and rich, coconutty flavor make this recipe next level delicious!

It doesn’t take much to turn a regular banana bread into something special and in this case, the caramelized bananas paired with coconut and rum add a whole new level of flavor. The bread is surprisingly easy to make, meaning you can have batch after batch to enjoy for breakfast, dessert, or as an indulgent snack!

Looking for more variations on classic banana bread? Be sure to try my Banana Bread with a Crunch and Sourdough Walnut Banana Bread recipes!

❓ Why caramelized bananas?

Your everyday banana bread recipe will call for overly ripe bananas. These bananas are soft and sweet on their own, but there’s so much room for improvement! Caramelizing the bananas in brown sugar and rum is the best way to intensify the decadent flavors. 

🍴Ingredients

• Bananas - There’s no such thing as a “too ripe” banana! When your bananas are spotty and freckly, they’re perfect. Never toss your old bananas as they can be frozen and used in future loaves of banana bread, banana cupcakes, cakes, or smoothies.

• Brown sugar - Used to caramelize the bananas and sweeten the bread. The sugar helps the sliced bananas become darker, nuttier, and intensifies the sweet flavor. 

• Rum - The deep, caramel flavors of dark rum complement this coconutty and sweet banana bread really well.

• Coconut oil  - For moisture and richness. You can also use olive oil here.  

• Maple syrup - This adds another rich layer of flavor while adding moisture to the bread.

• Coconut flakes - Because coconut and rum are such a perfect pairing!

• Cream cheese frosting - You’ll need unsalted butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla paste for the cream cheese frosting. Frosting your banana bread is optional but so worth it!

📖 Step by Step Instructions

This banana bread recipe is enhanced with deliciously sweet caramelized bananas you can quickly make on the stove top. Follow these easy-to-follow instructions to make the perfect loaf:

Step 1: Caramelize the bananas. Sprinkle the peeled and halved bananas with brown sugar. Place them in a saucepan over medium heat and cook until they’re golden brown and caramelized. Deglaze the pan with some rum, flip the bananas, and cook until they’re golden brown on all sides. Transfer to a mixing bowl.

Step 2: Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.

Step 3: Combine the wet ingredients. Mash the cooled caramelized bananas with a fork, then add the eggs, coconut oil, brown sugar, maple syrup, and rum to the bowl.

Step 4: Mix the batter and bake. Add the dry mixture and coconut flakes to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix gently to combine, then pour the batter into a loaf pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Step 5: Make the cream cheese frosting. Beat the butter and cream cheese together until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Slowly mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla paste until everything is well combined. Spread it over the cooled banana bread, then serve and enjoy!

👩🏻‍🍳 Expert Tips

• Are your bananas still green? Give them a ripening kickstart by placing them in a brown paper bag on the counter for a few days.
• Room temperature ingredients are essential for making the perfect banana bread batter. 
• Measure by VOLUME, NOT by bananas! Not all bananas are the same size, so weighing the bananas ensures consistency and perfect results.
• Do not overmix. Gently mix the ingredients in the batter until they’re just combined. Overmixing will give you a dense or chewy bread.

⏲️ Substitutions & Variations

It’s hard to believe you can make this recipe even better, but with mix-ins, it’s possible! Fold any of these into the finished batter for even more flavor:

• Chopped almonds or walnuts.
• Chocolate or white chocolate chips or chunks.
• Dried cranberries, dates, or pineapple.

Looking for an alternative to the cream cheese frosting? Try this brown butter buttercream instead. Add a few more delicious treats to your Mother's day brunch by taking a look at my roundup!

💭 Recipe FAQs

More sweet dessert and enriched breads to try

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