Ricotta Banana Bread has great flavor and texture. It differs from many other banana bread recipes that call for oil in the batter in that it is less greasy and spongy.
Ricotta Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 3 Each Bananas
- 2 each Eggs
- 1½ Cup All Purpose Flour
- ¾ Cup Ricotta Cheese
- ½ Cup Dark Chocolate Chips
- ¼ Cup Butter Plus 1 Tbsp for greasing pan.
- 1 Tablespoon Honey
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ Teaspoon Grated Cloves
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 325 F.
- In a stand mixer combine Bananas, Ricotta, Honey, Vanilla, Eggs, and Grated Cloves. Using the whisk attachment, beat on medium speed until evenly combined. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl intermittingly.
- In a separate bowl, sift together Flour, Salt, Baking Powder, and Baking Soda.
- Next, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet while mixing on low speed. Stop mixier briefly after all the dry is incorporated. You do not want to over mix.
- Now add the Chocolate Chips and fold them into the batter while scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl.
- Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with the extra tablespoon of softened butter. (You could also use a baking spray,)
- Pour the Batter into the Pan and bake at 325 F for 30-40 Minutes. Make sure to rotate your pan halfway through for even baking.
- Check to see that the Banana Bread is fully cooked by probing the center with a tooth pick or knife. If cooked though, remove from oven and place a baking rack to cool.
- After 5 minutes of resting, using an offset spatula or thin knife, gently run the blade along the inside of the pan to release the sides. Support the top of the Banana Bread with your hand or a plate and flip over to remove.
Tips on Making Ricotta Banana Bread
- You will want to use fully ripened bananas for this recipe. Bananas that have plenty of brown spots on their peel are perfect for making Ricotta Banana Bread.
- Do not forget to scrape down the sides of the mixer. If you forget this step, you may get an inconsistent batter and your results may not be ideal.
How This Ricotta Banana Bread Recipe came to be.
This Ricotta Banana Bread recipe is one that came about after many attempts of trial, error, and last minute substitutions. It’s actually a funny story…
Straight out of culinary school, I had a job at a resort where one of my many tasks was making banana bread. Two of us were responsible for the baking duties: myself and a Eastern European woman we’ll call Svetlana, to protect her identity. Svetlana predated every other employee at the resort, and little did I know, we would soon become rivals due to the differences in our approach to making Banana Bread.
I walked into the kitchen one afternoon to learn I had inadvertently fired the first shot. How, you ask? Simply by making bread for the next morning. It was the first time I had baked Banana Bread at this resort, and one of the administrators complimented Svetlana on a batch of the bread, asking if she had used a recipe this time. She took great offense to this compliment, as she had already spent most of her morning proclaiming how awful my take on banana bread was. So battle lines were drawn.
Svetlana and I came from very different schools of thought on Banana Bread. Hers was the dense, spongy, dark, non-rising variety. If I am being honest, I thought hers had good flavor, except for the walnuts. Mine, on the other hand, was fluffy, golden brown, and sported an instagram worthy fresh baked bread part down the center of the loaf. I added sour cream to keep moisture, and chocolate, because who doesn’t like chocolate? Me being a young all-knowing cook fresh out of school, and her being the type who refused to take any critique, neither of us were willing to conform to each other’s style.
It didn’t help matters that the Executive Chef had quit recently for a private gig in the Bahamas. The Sous Chef who took the reigns was too interested in playing with foams- and trying to hide the fact he was sleeping with “Svetlana”- to establish a standard recipe. Their romance budded over their frequent cigarette breaks, but needed to remain hidden as his late night video gamer friend was her son. I could go on about this, but lets get back to the bread.
“Svetlana” and I never developed a standard recipe, nor did our feud ever get settled. I left that job in less than a year because the environment was toxic, and a better opportunity presented itself. I did get to experiment a ton with food as a result of our lack of direction. Being in such a chaotic environment, I often made necessary substitutions to recipes that I had scribbled in my notepads.
This Ricotta Banana Bread recipe was developed At 5 am one morning. My very considerate co worker Svetlana was on vacation; as a thank you (spelled with a capital F) for covering her shifts, she decided to leave me with zero prep and skipped her typical food delivery orders for good measure. As a result, there was no sour cream or plain yogurt in the walk in, so I improvised and reached for the Ricotta. Thus this variation was born.
The ricotta adds all of the moisture typically gained from using the more generic vegetable oil, greek yogurt, or sour cream that other banana bread recipes call for, while avoiding the dreaded tang and ‘gas station muffins’ feel. No one needs a greasy gas station banana bread.
Try this recipe out next time you are looking for a better-than-you-can-buy banana bread.
This blog is fun to read. I enjoy the personalized introductions and the recipes are easy to follow and very good.