Spice Tea Banana Bread with Cinnamon and Sugar
Classic banana bread made with a spice tea twist and layers of cinnamon and sugar inside and out.
Ingredients
For the Bread Batter:
- 1/3 cup hot water for steeping the teabag
- 1 spice teabag (steep in the hot water for 20 minutes)
- 2-1/4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons melted butter (salted) for the batter (heated in the microwave for 30 seconds so that the butter isn't too hot)
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 3 medium size very ripe bananas (should equal 1 heaping cup when mashed)
- 1 teaspoon butter softened (for greasing pan)
For the Layers of Cinnamon and Sugar:
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Equipment
- One pound loaf pan (8-1/2 x 4-1/2 inches; or 9 x 5 inches)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease the inside of a one-pound loaf pan (bottom and sides) with softened butter, or nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, add granulated sugar and ground cinnamon. Stir together and set aside.
For the Bread Batter:
- For the Spice Tea - In a heat resistant cup, add 1/3 cup hot water. To the cup add a spice teabag. Let steep in hot water for 20 minutes.
- For the Dry Ingredients - In a medium size mixing bowl, add flour, salt and baking soda. Whisk or stir together with a spoon. Set aside.
- For the Batter - In a small microwave-safe bowl, add butter.
- Heat the butter in the microwave for just 30 seconds (not any longer so that the butter doesn't get too hot for the batter).
- Once out of the microwave, stir the butter until it's completely melted.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the melted butter, granulated sugar and eggs. Using a handheld or stand mixer, beat until smooth and creamy (about 2 minutes).
- After the tea has steeped for 20 minutes, discard the tea bag and pour the tea in the large mixing bowl.
- Beat the ingredients until combined.
- To the large mixing bowl, add the flour a little at a time while mixing the batter on the lowest speed (this should help prevent the flour from flying out of the bowl).
- Beat until combined (don't overmix). Set the batter aside for just a moment.
- In a small bowl, add the peeled bananas.
- With a fork, mash the bananas so that there are still some small pieces of bananas.
- To the batter, add the mashed bananas.
- With a mixer (set on low speed), mix just long enough to combine the bananas in the batter (don't overmix).
- To the prepared pan, spoon in 1/2 of the batter.
- With a soft spatula spread the batter evenly so that it's level in the pan. Set aside for a moment.
For the Layers of Cinnamon and Sugar:
- Sprinkle 1/2 of the sugar mixture evenly over the batter in the bread pan.
- To the bread pan, spoon in the remaining batter. With a soft spatula spread the batter evenly so that it's level in the pan.
- Sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture evenly over the batter.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F. until a toothpick (or thin wooden skewer) comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the bread (about 55 to 56 minutes).
- Set the pan on a rack and let the bread cool completely before removing it from the pan.
- Once the bread has cooled, carefully remove the banana bread from the pan (it's best to do this over a large plate in case a little bit of the cinnamon and sugar mixture comes off of the top of the bread).
- Just before servings, cut slices of banana bread for each serving (it's best to keep the loaf whole rather than slicing it in advance of serving so that it doesn't dry out).
- Serve at room temperature or warm with butter or just by itself.