Cardamom Coffee Banana Bread

Cardamom Coffee Banana Bread

Adding cardamom to coffee is a well-loved practice throughout the Middle East and one that plays off each ingredient's traits. Sweet, floral cardamom mellows the acidity of coffee while coffee’s inherent bitterness keeps the peppery, menthol-like notes of the spice from overpowering. Here, the couple transforms a humble banana bread, perfuming it with extra warmth, while chopped dark chocolate adds richness. An optional coffee drizzle ensures this loaf is eye-catching but if you’d rather keep things simpler, sprinkle it with coarse turbinado sugar before baking to lend a touch of sparkle as well as pleasant crunch.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings (One 9-inch loaf)

For the Banana Bread

3 very ripe large bananas (about 1 pound) 

⅔ packed cup/146 grams light brown sugar

½ cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), melted and slightly cooled

⅓ cup/75 grams sour cream or whole-milk Greek yogurt

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups/256 grams all-purpose flour

1½ tablespoons instant espresso powder (see Tip)

1 teaspoon ground cardamom, preferably freshly ground

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

3 ounces/85 grams dark (bittersweet) chocolate, chopped (about ½ cup)

For the (optional) Coffee Drizzle

2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

⅓ cup/41 grams unsifted powdered sugar

Pinch kosher salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper to form a sling that hangs over the two long sides.

In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher until mostly smooth (a few lumps are okay). Add the brown sugar, melted butter, sour cream, eggs and vanilla extract and whisk to combine.

Add the flour, espresso powder, cardamom, baking soda and salt and stir until just combined; do not overmix. Stir in the chocolate.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs attached, 55 to 65 minutes.

Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Meanwhile, make the coffee drizzle, if using: While the banana bread is cooling, combine espresso powder and 2 teaspoons water in a small bowl to dissolve. Add the powdered sugar and stir with a fork until smooth.

Run a knife around the sides of the bread to loosen it then grasp the parchment paper sling and lift the bread out of the pan onto a wire rack (see Tip). Peel off the parchment paper from the sides of the bread and drizzle the glaze over the top, if using (any excess will fall onto the peeled-off parchment). Let cool completely before removing the parchment paper from the bottom of the bread and slicing.

Tips: If you’re caffeine-sensitive, look for decaf instant espresso powder, which can be a little harder to find but is available online.

The cooled banana bread, without the glaze, can be tightly wrapped and frozen for up to 3 months. Let it thaw at room temperature at least 4 hours or up to overnight before glazing and serving. Alternatively, the bread can be baked and glazed up to a day ahead of time and stored, loosely covered, at room temperature.

Every time you buy bananas, buy one more than you think you need.

Put that whole super-ripe last banana in the freezer, skin and all. Repeat two or three times.

The night before you want to bake a banana bread, take the bananas you want to use out of the freezer and let them thaw overnight in the fridge.

When you bake your cake, cut the stem off the banana and squeeze the whole thing into the mix, like a tube of toothpaste. This never fails, and works on shorter notice. (Thanks, Alton Brown!)