No matter the time of year, I always find myself with a serious craving for comforting quick breads. Banana bread has always been a favorite of mine – it has the richness of a brownie and the fluffiness of a cake!
Bananas, brown sugar, and butter make an amazing combination – just think of the rich, caramelized bananas that you spoon all over your Sunday pancakes or French toast. I wanted to capitalize on the dark, rich, molasses-caramel notes in banana bread and provide relief with the punchy flavors of grape and miso. Leaving a few grapes intact while mashing the fruit guarantees you a delightful textural eating experience.
Miso
A quick word on this unique and delicious ingredient. Miso paste is a salty, umami-rich ingredient that’s used in traditional Japanese cooking. It’s most often made by fermenting soybeans (other varieties, like chickpea miso, also exist). As one chef I worked with put it, “all things delicious are fermented.” And as I’ve incorporated more fermented ingredients into my dishes, I’m more inclined to agree! During fermentation, naturally occurring microbes break down some components of foods while creating new ones. This introduces completely new flavors (e.g. think about how sauerkraut tastes pretty different from plain cabbage) and makes the overall flavor profile of the ingredient more nuanced and complex.
Miso is a bold ingredient, so I use sweet white miso in this dessert; it’s milder, more delicate, and has less sodium than darker varieties. When blended with the sweet caramelized bananas, grapes, and molasses, I find the result to be surprisingly pleasant and punchy. Try adding miso to other desserts, like chocolate chip cookies or chocolate fudge brownies (ahem, chocolate + salt is delicious…) and you may be shocked by how addicting it is!
Fudgy Banana Bread with Grapes and a Gamechanging Secret Ingredient
Ingredients
- 250 g very ripe bananas (2-3 medium)*
- 100 g red grapes**
- 1/2 C vegan butter
- 3 Tbsp sweet white miso
- 1/2 C granulated white sugar
- 1/2 C brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp blackstrap molasses (optional: adjust brown sugar to 1/4 C if using)
- 2 eggs worth of vegan egg replacer product (can use flax eggs)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ C all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (skip if using an air fryer to bake the bread). Line a bread loaf tin or cake tin with parchment paper.
- Peel the bananas. Mash them and the grapes with a fork, leaving a few grapes intact.
- Using a stand mixer, hand mixer, or a strong hand with a fork, cream together the butter, miso, and sugars until light and fluffy (around 2 minutes on medium speed). Add the mashed fruit, egg replacer, vanilla extract, and mix to combine well.
- Sift together all of the dry ingredients and add to the wet ingredients. Mix until smooth, using a spatula to scrape up any dry bits from the bottom of the bowl.
- Pour the batter into your prepared baking vessel. Bake in the oven for 60-75 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. If using an air fryer, cover the loaf/cake tin with foil and "fry" at 300F for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. If desired, remove the foil during the last 5 minutes to develop a nice crust (this will be the sweetest part of the bread due to caramelization of the sugars).
- Allow to cool slightly before removing from the tin. Cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes before slicing. Enjoy hot or toasted the next day!
