Strawberry Banana Bread

5 from 7 votes

This Strawberry Banana Bread is moist, tender, filled with sweet bananas and juicy strawberries, and finished with a fluffy strawberry cream cheese frosting.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Cooling1

Total Time2 15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: slices

Author: Adrianna Adarme

Equipment

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter , melted
3 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil
1 ⅓ cups (300g) mashed banana
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ½ cups (195g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (140g) diced fresh strawberries

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting:

3 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
⅓ cup (8g) freeze-dried strawberries
1 tablespoon heavy cream
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste
Pinch kosher salt

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, sugar, vanilla paste, and eggs, whisk to combine. Then, whisk in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Now, add the flour and use a large silicone spatula to mix everything just until the batter has come together, trying not to overmix. Lastly, add in the diced strawberries and mix until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 65-75 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 Frosting:

In a blender, add the freeze-dried strawberries and blitz until it turns into a powder.
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, freeze-dried strawberry powder, salt, vanilla, heavy cream. Beat for a full 2 minutes for fluffy and smooth frosting.
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.
Store any leftover banana bread tightly wrapped with plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Notes

Quick Tips

Use just ripe bananas. Bananas speckled with brown spots are perfect for this. Too ripe may create a denser loaf.

Don't overmix the batter. Stir only until the flour disappears to keep the loaf tender and prevent a dense/tough texture.

Dice the strawberries small. Smaller pieces distribute more evenly throughout the loaf and help prevent sinking.

Cool before frosting. Let the loaf hang out on a cooling rack for at least an hour. Even slightly warm banana bread can cause the cream cheese frosting to melt and slide off.

Make Ahead & Storage

Make Ahead: The banana bread can be baked up to 1 day ahead and stored tightly wrapped at room temperature. The frosting can also be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated.

Storage: Store leftover banana bread tightly wrapped or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If your kitchen is really warm, refrigerate the frosted loaf for up to 4 days.

Nutrition