Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters - Banana Bread

Several years ago, I got the chance to see the Brass Sisters in person at Northeastern University. These baking wizards performed their magic for us at the Xhibition Kitchen - an intimate venue where you can see chefs in action and purchase signed copies of their books. 

The Brass Sisters' book is a work of art in itself. It's beautifully illustrated with gorgeous photographs and colorful designs throughout.

 

Here's the banana bread recipe from Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters - More than 100 Years of Recipes Discovered from Family Cookbooks, Original Journals, Scraps of Paper, & Grandmother's Kitchen

Banana Bread

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 1/3 cups mashed bananas (about 3 medium banans)

1 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts

1. Set the oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line the bottom and ends of a 9-inch by 5-inch by 3-inch loaf pan with a single strip of wax paper or parchment paper. Coat the pan and paper liner with vegetable spray.

2. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.

3. Cream butter, brown sugar, and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add egg and bananas and combine. Add sifted dry ingredients. Fold in nuts.

4. Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until tester inserted into loaf comes out clean. Cool on rack. Serve with butter and orange marmalade. Store covered with a paper towel and wax paper at room temperature.

*A personal note: This banana bread is not very sweet. Thus, the authors' recommendation of serving with butter and orange marmalade makes perfect sense.

From the Brass Sisters: This handwritten recipe for a thrifty staple uses those overly ripe bananas most of us usually have on hand. Most of the banana breads we've tried use mainly vegetable oil, sugar, and bananas. This recipe calls for melted butter. With our addition of finely chopped walnuts, it has more the flavor and texture of a banana cake.