I love banana bread. Obviously, everyone and their mother is making banana bread right now and there are SO many incredible recipes out there. I put my own spin by swirling in a tahini, maple and sesame seeds spread that just adds a toasty, nutty, decadent element to the bread, making it incredibly addictive and not too sweet. I hope you love my Maple Tahini Swirl Banana Bread as much as I do!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 small ripe bananas or 2 large bananas
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup tahini paste
- 1/2 cup grade A maple syrup
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar – can sub with granulated if you don’t have
- 1 stick-8 tablespoons melted salted butter -can also use unsalted just adjust the kosher salt measurement to 1 tsp
- 1/3 cup full fat plain yogurt or sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- optional ingredient to add in- 2/3 cups bittersweet chocolate (chocolate and tahini are a match made in heaven)
Tahini swirl
- 1 tablespoon grade A maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons tahini paste
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds- plus two tablespoons extra for dusting the loaf tin after the buttering
- Pinch salt – either kosher or sea
Directions
- Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Butter a 9X5 loaf tin and sprinkle the two extra tablespoons of sesame seeds evenly on the inside. The sesame seed dusting in the tin adds even more of that toasted sesame flavor.
- Make the swirl first -Mix the swirl ingredients together and keep to the side.
- Place the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a bowl and whisk together, to combine. Put to the side.
- In a large bowl mush the bananas well. Add in the sugar, tahini paste, maple syrup, melted butter, yogurt (or sour cream) vanilla and eggs and mix well.
- Using a whisk, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in two stages. Do not overmix. (If adding in the chocolate, this is when you would fold it in, after all the dry is mixed into the wet)
- Pour half of batter in the tin and then dollop half of the swirl on top. Gently swirl the tahini into the batter, then pour the rest of the batter on top and finish with the tahini swirl. Gently swirl the tahini horizontally on top of the cake.
- Place a sheet tray in the oven and place the banana bread on top of the tray (this helps with any spillage) in the pre-heated oven for 1 hour- 1 hour 15 minutes. If the banana bread is getting too dark, loosely tent with tin foil to stop it from browning. Test with a toothpick or knife to see if it’s wet in the middle. When the toothpick comes out clean it’s done. Delicious on its own, but schmear this Maple Tahini Swirl Banana Bread with butter and drizzle some maple syrup and a sprinkle of sea salt – pure perfection.
