Preheat oven to 325℉. Prepare 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with vegetable spray or grease lightly with oil.
Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon (optional but recommended), and salt in a small bowl.
Mash bananas with a fork, electric mixer, potato masher, or your hands. Set aside.
In a separate large bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy for about 2 to 3 minutes.
Add eggs, mashed bananas, and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix until well combined.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Mix until incorporated, but avoid overmixing the batter. Your batter should not be smooth.
(optional) Add ⅔ cup of your mix-ins to the batter. Reserve the remaining ⅓ cup.
Pour batter into loaf pan. Sprinkle remaining ⅓ cup of mix-ins on top of batter.
Bake at 325℉ for 60-65 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Let bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes then remove it from the pan. Place on a wire rack and let cool completely.
Notes
Using unripe bananas: bake unpeeled bananas on a baking sheet at 300℉ oven for 10 to 15 minutes.To freeze: cool bread completely then double wrap in a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil. Banana bread will last in the freezer for up to 1 month.For super moist banana bread: In step 6, make sure to mix the flour and butter mixtures just until incorporated. Too much mixing and gluten will develop, which results in a tough bread. Also make sure your bananas are ripe before using. They should be more brown than they are yellow. The soft over-ripe banana adds much-needed moisture to your bread. Finally, make sure all your ingredients, especially your butter, are at room temperature before incorporating. This will help ensure everything is incorporated evenly and your bread comes out moist and fluffy!Cream cheese frosting: banana bread goes wonderfully with cream cheese frosting! Find the recipe easy here.
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