Funfetti Roasted Banana Bread

Sometimes you just need to have a little fun with your food. This recipe stemmed from ideas that swirled in my head as my kids made food requests while I perused the supermarket aisles. My daughter had been asking for banana bread for quite some time, but the bananas in my house, at least lately, haven't had enough time to over ripen since they get eaten so quickly. So when I discovered the genius hack of roasting bananas for recipes it was like a light bulb went off. Bingo! Got fresh bananas? You can still make a really good banana bread! The roasted banana give it a greater depth of flavor. It's a deeper banana flavor, without being overly sweet. It's... dare I say it...better than regular banana bread!? As for the sprinkles, I couldn't say no to my 3 year old's request for funfetti! 

So lets start with the bananas, I took three fresh bananas in their peel. Placed them on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and roasted them in the oven at 350F for 15-20 minutes. Enough for their skins to turn a very unappealing black. Allow these to cool, then peel and mash them up in a bowl and set aside. 

Then in a bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and airy...about 3-4 minutes. Then its time to mix in the buttermilk, bananas, eggs and vanilla. Add in your dry ingredients and mix until blended. Take the bowl out of the mixer and gently fold in your sprinkles.

Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and top with demerara sugar and a handful more of sprinkles. Because you can never have too many sprinkles! Bake for about 55-60 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes then unmold and cool on a wire rack. Slice and enjoy!

I'm loving this recipe for it's ease and because there's no need to wait for extra ripe bananas! Heck, you can buy bananas straight from the supermarket and make this bread right away! It's here to satisfy your every banana bread need! Plus with only 1/4 cup of sugar, it's a great lower sugar alternative to a lot of the banana bread recipes I've seen out there! Let me know how it goes and leave a comment with any questions you may have! Happy Baking!

Funfetti Roasted Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 4 Medium sized bananas (doesn't need to be ripe)
• 1/4 cup Buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 3/4 cups Whole wheat white flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup multi colored sprinkles
• optional topping: 2 tbsp demura sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp sprinkles

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350F and spray a 9X5" loaf pan with non stick spray and set aside
2. Place bananas with skins on a foiled covered baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until skins have turned a very dark brown. Allow to cool then peel and mash.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter and sugar until light and airy
4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl  and Add in the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and mashed bananas.
5. Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix until just combined. 
6. Fold in the sprinkles and pour batter into your loaf pan. Top with topping if desired.
7. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool before slicing!