Salted Maple Banana Bread

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This Salted Maple Banana Bread is moist and tender with rich maple flavor in every layer. It’s topped with fluffy maple cream cheese frosting, salted maple caramel, and flaky sea salt for a sweet-and-salty finish.

Prep Time25

Cook Time1 5

Cool1

Total Time2 30

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: slices

Author: Adrianna Adarme

Equipment

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter melted
3 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil
1⅓ cups (300g) mashed banana from about 3 bananas
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (70g) maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1½ cups (195g) all-purpose flour

Salted Maple Caramel:

½ cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature and cubed
2 tablespoons heavy cream
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Salted Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:

3 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1½ cups (150g) powdered sugar
2 tablespoons salted maple caramel
Flaky sea salt for garnish

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350ºF and grease and line an 8-inch x 4-inch or a 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan, and put a piece of parchment that spans just the center length with the ends of the parchment hanging over the edge of the pan for an easy way to release the loaf to cool.
To a medium bowl, add the melted butter (make sure the butter isn’t hot), oil, mashed banana, maple syrup, sugar, vanilla paste, and eggs, whisk to combine. Then, whisk in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Finally, add the flour and use a large silicone spatula to mix everything just until the batter has come together, trying not to over-mix.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 60-65 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Let the loaf cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then use the parchment paper to lift the loaf out of the pan and place it on a cooling rack to cool completely.

To Make the Salted Maple Caramel:

In a small saucepan, over medium-low heat, bring the maple syrup to a simmer. Allow the maple syrup to cook down and bubble, stirring frequently (to avoid bubbling over) until it reaches 235degreesF, about 5-7 minutes. Then stir in the butter until melted into the maple syrup and turn off the heat. Now, stir in the heavy cream and salt until combined. Allow the salted maple caramel to cool and thicken, about 1 hour.

To Make the Salted Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a medium bowl using an electric hand mixer, add the cream cheese and beat it until smooth. Next, add the butter and beat it until smooth, about 15 seconds.
Add the powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of the salted maple caramel. Beat for a full 2 minutes for fluffy and smooth frosting. If the frosting is a bit loose, just pop it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to firm up.
Once the loaf is cooled, dollop the frosting over the top of the loaf and use the back of a spoon to swirl it all over. Drizzle the loaf with the rest of the salted maple caramel, sprinkle the top with flaky sea salt, and slice it up.
Store any leftover banana bread tightly wrapped with plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Notes

Quick Tips

Use ripe bananas. The bananas should be very yellow at the very least but brown speckled bananas are best. We want a sweet banana flavor.

Avoid overmixing. Fold in the flour only until the batter comes together. Mixing too much can make the loaf dense or tough.

Watch the maple syrup closely. It can bubble up as it cooks, so stir frequently and use a thermometer to determine when it reaches 235°F.

Cool the loaf completely before frosting. Even a slightly warm loaf can melt the cream cheese frosting and cause it to slide off.

Make Ahead & Storage

Make Ahead: Bake the banana bread up to 1 day in advance and keep it tightly wrapped at room temperature before frosting.

Storage: Once frosted, it's suggested to cover and refrigerate the banana bread for up to 3 days because the frosting contains cream cheese. (I have never had a problem leaving it out at room temp for a day or two but if your kitchen is very warm, I'd definitely store the loaf in the fridge.) The unfrosted loaf can be tightly wrapped and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Nutrition