Sweet salted caramel meets moist, cinnamon-scented quick bread in this easy recipe for Salted Caramel Banana Bread. It’s an easy, sticky, decadent dessert that will make your mouth happy!
In a medium saucepan, add granulated sugar, salt, and water. Swirl to cover sugar and salt mixture with water.
Over medium heat, bring sugar mixture to a simmer. Do not stir. Allow to simmer for approximately 5 minutes or until the sugar turns an amber color. The pot can be gently swirled once or twice during this process. Be careful to not burn sugar mixture. If using a candy thermometer, cook until 350°F.
Once the sugar mixture is ready, remove from heat and immediately add cold butter and heavy cream. Beware: the mixture will bubble violently but whisk through this, it will subside.
Once the butter and heavy cream are fully incorporated into the sugar mixture, set aside and allow to cool.
Banana Bread:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9x5” loaf pan and line with parchment paper for easy removal.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, using a hand mixer, cream butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time and mix for approximately 1 minute between each addition. Next, add milk and vanilla and mix until combined.
Pour the flour mixture into the butter/sugar mixture. Using a spatula, mix until the batter is almost combined. Add the mashed bananas and caramel sauce. Fold together a few more times until no more dry flour remains. Fold in walnuts now if using nuts.
Immediately pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Place loaf pan on a baking sheet. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Using a butter knife gently run the knife around the loaf pan. Flip the loaf pan onto a serving dish, slice and drizzle with leftover caramel sauce.
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Notes
Dark Color: Don’t be concerned if you notice that the bread is turning out darker than normal banana bread - the caramel sauce darkens the finished loaf.
Don’t Burn the Sugar: When making caramel, be sure to stay with it until it’s done - sugar for caramel sauce can go from perfect to burned in just seconds!
Use Caution with Caramel Sauce: When you add the heavy cream and butter, your caramel sauce will violently bubble up - so be ready. Just whisk through it and the bubbling will die down to a smooth sauce.
Leavening: To make sure your salted caramel banana bread rises properly, check the date on your baking soda. Fresh baking soda is very important for getting a good rise.