Description
This Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread is a moist, flavorful quick bread with a delightful cinnamon sugar swirl and a smooth vanilla icing drizzle. Perfect for breakfast, snacks, or dessert, it combines ripe bananas, warm cinnamon, and creamy yogurt for a tender crumb and rich taste.
Ingredients
Scale
Banana Bread
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup (135g) granulated sugar (or packed brown sugar)
- 4 tablespoons (56g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (345g) mashed bananas (about 4 medium or 3 large ripe bananas)
- 1/3 cup (80g) plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Cinnamon Swirl
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Vanilla Icing
- 1/2 cup (60g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) heavy cream or milk
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare Oven and Pan: Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9×5-inch metal loaf pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt until evenly combined.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: Using a handheld or stand mixer with paddle or whisk attachment, beat the softened butter and sugar on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Add Eggs and Wet Ingredients: With the mixer on medium speed, add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Next, beat in the mashed bananas, Greek yogurt, and vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
- Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients: Lower the mixer speed to low and gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Beat gently until no flour pockets remain, taking care not to overmix. The batter should be about 3 and 1/2 cups in volume.
- Make Cinnamon Swirl Mixture: In a small bowl, combine the sugar and ground cinnamon for the swirl.
- Layer Batter and Swirl: Spoon half of the banana bread batter into the prepared loaf pan, spreading evenly. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the batter. Carefully spoon the remaining batter on top and spread gently. Use a knife to swirl through the batter, creating a cinnamon swirl pattern without overmixing.
- Bake Bread: Bake in the preheated oven for 55–65 minutes. Halfway through baking, loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil to prevent excess browning. The banana bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Begin checking for doneness at 55 minutes, then every 5 minutes as needed.
- Cool Bread: Remove the bread from the oven and let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 1 hour. Then remove from the pan and cool completely on the wire rack.
- Prepare Vanilla Icing: Whisk together confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream (or milk), and vanilla extract until smooth and thick.
- Drizzle Icing and Serve: Drizzle the vanilla icing over the cooled bread before slicing and serving.
- Storage: Cover and store the banana bread at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for up to 1 week. Note that the icing will soak into the bread, making the top slices slightly moist over time.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Freeze the banana bread without icing for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and ice before serving. For more tips on freezing quick breads, refer to Make-Ahead Baking resources.
- Special Tools: 9×5-inch loaf pan, whisk, glass mixing bowl, handheld or stand electric mixer, cooling rack.
- Flour Substitute: Whole wheat flour can be used in place of all-purpose without other changes.
- Butter: Salted butter can be used instead of unsalted if needed.
- Banana Bread Muffins: Make 2 dozen cinnamon swirl banana muffins by baking the batter in lined or greased muffin pans. Bake 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C), then reduce oven to 350°F (177°C) and bake 16–17 more minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Alternatives to Yogurt or Sour Cream: Substitute the 1/3 cup Greek yogurt with an extra 1/3 cup mashed banana, unsweetened applesauce, or canned pumpkin puree.
- Frozen Bananas: Thawed frozen bananas can be used; drain excess liquid and mash with some texture remaining for best results.
- Banana Bundt Cake Variation: This recipe does not yield enough batter for a Bundt cake. For a banana Bundt cake, use a scaled-up recipe like chocolate marble banana Bundt cake and substitute cinnamon sugar swirl as desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (approx. 1/12 of loaf)
- Calories: 220
- Sugar: 15g
- Sodium: 170mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 35g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 50mg
