Bourbon Banana Bread Recipe

By
Leah Maroney
Leah Maroney
Leah Maroney
A recipe developer and food photographer, Leah Maroney is an ardent home cook and food blogger who has written over 300 recipes for The Spruce Eats.
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Updated on 05/27/22
Bourbon banana bread
Leah Maroney
Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 60 mins
Total: 80 mins
Servings: 10 servings
Yield: 1 loaf

This amazing banana bread recipe is incredibly moist and unbelievably delicious. It's based on Nigella Lawson's banana bread recipe. We omit the soaked raisins and add a nice bourbon glaze. But the heart of the bread is hers, and boy does she know what she's doing. Some loaf breads can be so dry. The bourbon and a generous amount of ripe mashed bananas keep this bread extremely moist. You can also keep the texture dense and moist by not over mixing the batter. You don't want the batter to become glutenous (which will make it chewy).

The bread itself does not hold on to its alcohol content, but the glaze does. If you want to make sure the glaze does not contain alcohol, just heat up the bourbon for about two minutes in a saucepan. Let it cool and then combine with the powdered sugar. The heat will cook off the alcohol and it will be alcohol free.

You can add a little cocoa powder and chocolate chips to this recipe if you want to make it chocolatey! It's so easy to make this bread ahead of time. It can also be easily frozen and is a great housewarming, baby welcoming alternative to the typical cinnamon rolls and pastries (typical in our house at least!)

Ingredients

  • 6 tablespoons bourbon, or dark rum

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

  • 1/2 cup sugar

  • 2 large eggs

  • 3 medium bananas, ripe and mashed

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Glaze:

  • 1 tablespoon bourbon

  • 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Steps to Make It

  1. Heat the bourbon in a small saucepan for about 2 minutes. 

  2. Remove from the heat and set aside. Butter and flour a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan or line it with parchment paper. 

  3. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium-sized bowl. 

  4. In the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large bowl) mix together the melted butter and sugar. Beat well until blended. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Then add in the mashed bananas, cooled bourbon, and vanilla extract. 

  5. Add the flour mixture in thirds to the wet mixture. Stirring gently after each bit. DO NOT OVERMIX. 

  6. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake on a middle rack in the oven for about 1 hour. Bake for less time if you are baking on convection. 

  7. Check its doneness with a toothpick. It should come out fairly clean, but it is OK if it looks a little sticky. This is a very dense and moist bread.

  8. Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack.

  9. Whisk together the bourbon and confectioners' sugar until thick and smooth. Once the bread is cooled and removed from the pan, drizzle the glaze over the top of the bread. The bread tastes even better the second day.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
246 Calories
10g Fat
36g Carbs
3g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 10
Amount per serving
Calories 246
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 10g 13%
Saturated Fat 6g 31%
Cholesterol 62mg 21%
Sodium 244mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 36g 13%
Dietary Fiber 1g 5%
Total Sugars 20g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 3mg 15%
Calcium 80mg 6%
Iron 1mg 6%
Potassium 161mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)