Balance The Sweetness Of Banana Bread With One Easy Addition

Tender, moist banana bread is a mainstay in the breakfast pastry canon for good reason. It's satisfying, simple to make, and a great way to use up fruit you may otherwise send to the compost bin. Some adhere to a tried and true preparation, while others may experiment with additional fruit to improve the flavor of banana bread. But if you've ever found your bread to be a bit too sweet, there is another ingredient you'll want to include in your recipe, and that's espresso powder.

Baking with instant coffee isn't a totally unique or new concept, nor is the combination of banana and coffee. In fact, a viral trend features basically nothing more than blending a couple of bananas with iced coffee, highlighting that these flavors together are complementary perfection. The logic behind banana bread with espresso powder is similar; the bitterness of coffee provides a counterpoint to the natural sweetness and floral notes of the fruit. In the form of your banana bread, the espresso powder delivers that balance, while also contributing a depth of flavor.

You don't need much of this stuff to make a difference (and you don't want to overwhelm the bread with coffee flavor). About a teaspoon is a good place to start for a standard banana bread recipe, and you can always experiment with the amount in the future. Once you've dialed in your perfect formula, you may be inspired to further personalize your espresso-infused banana bread.

It's easy to customize this bread with elements that will also benefit from a bit of espresso powder. Chocolate always gets a boost from coffee flavor so you can stir in chocolate chips or even make the bread itself into a rich dark chocolate treat with cocoa powder. Walnuts add a little crunch while dark fruits like raisins or chopped up prunes work well the subtle espresso notes. Spices like cinnamon, clove, or even pumpkin spice blends also play to the strengths of the banana-coffee combination. You can also try baking with coconut oil, which lends a subtle complementary tropical note, or olive oil for a touch of savory complexity.

Of course, you can simply serve slices of banana bread alongside your favorite morning brew. However, you can also use a slice as the basis for an ice cream sundae, convert it into some mind-blowing French toast, or even let it go a little stale and create a banana espresso bread pudding topped with whipped cream. There are some common banana bread mistakes to avoid (and a few tips that will help make it right), but you definitely do not want to sleep on infusing yours with a little wake-up powder.