Not Banana Bread

While reeling in the deliciousness of the Gold Medal Plantain snack I made yesterday I was racking my brain to come up with a way to use the 4 ripe plantains I had waiting for me in the kitchen.  Since the ripe plantain is new to me, and it's much like a banana, I decided to make bread.  I had no idea what I was doing and I wasn't sure it was going to turn out, but it did!  I think you're going to love it.

Ugly outside, beautiful inside.

I know ripe plantains look disgusting.  I know.  Don't shy away from this because of that.  Check out what I had to say about them here and go for this.. it will be worth your while!  I promise, they're delicious!  When I finished the bread and turned it out of the pan everyone in the house swooped in on it like vultures, it was awesome!

A couple of things:

Ripe Plantains do not peel like a regular banana.  To remove the peel cut off both ends then run a knife down the center to open the peel and reveal the fruit.

Because ripe plantains are still fairly firm, at least in the middle, and keep their sugars hidden I started with frying them in a little bit of olive oil to bring out the sugars and soften them up for mashing.  I started with 2 Tbsp of Olive Oil, but since I was cooking them in batches as I cut them up I ended up adding another 1-2 Tbsp over the course of the event.

This entire recipe can be made by hand so long as your butter is room temperature when you start.  I'm never this prepared and, honestly, sometimes I just want to use my beat up old hand mixer.  If you want to do it by hand I suggest setting the butter on a far corner of the stove to help soften it while you make the plantains.

Don't question the sour cream.  I know it sounds weird, but it keeps it moist.  If you don't have any on hand yogurt will do the job too.

Also, when it came time to put the batter in a loaf pan I realized my loaf pan had run off on me.  They're like that.  I'm over it.  Really.  Anyway, I had to improvise and use two 8 inch rounds.  (This is sounding worse and worse, I know.)  The long and short of it is it worked like a charm and shaved about 25-30 minutes off the cooking time of a full loaf.

Cooked in batches as I sliced them up.

Ingredients:

3-4 Ripe Plantains
2-4 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 Stick (1/2 cup) Butter

1 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 3/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 Tsp. Lemon Juice

1 Tsp. Baking Powder

1 Tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp. Salt

1/2 Cup Sour Cream

1/2 Cup Shredded Coconut

Start with the plantains.  In a large heavy pan over medium heat add about 2 Tbsp oil, enough to cover the bottom.  As they cook the outsides will caramelize and turn a dark brown to black color, this is what you want.  Cover a plate with a couple of paper towels for the finished plantains, putting them here will help soak up any excess oil.  I also blotted the tops with paper towels because I didn't want to add the oil to the recipe.  Either way I think it will work.  Now for the fun part.  Put them in a bowl and mash them!
*Ultimately you want one heaping cup of mashed plantains so I just scooped a heaping cup into the bowl.  Any extra fried plantains will make a great snack!


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9"X5" loaf pan or two 8" rounds.

In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar together.  Add the eggs, vanilla and lemon juice.  Mix until it's nice and smooth.  (I used the hand mixer to this point, but because mine is a historical piece with basically one speed I did the rest by hand with a sturdy wooden spoon so I didn't batter the batter.)  In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Using about 1/4 of the flour mixture at a time add it to the butter mixture, stir until smooth.  Add the sour cream, mashed plantains, and coconut.  Mix it all together until everything is incorporated.  Spread evenly in the pan(s).








                               

For the loaf pan: Bake at 350 F for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

For the rounds: Bake at 350 F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Right out of the oven the bread is golden brown on top.  If you (like me and the vultures I live with) can't keep out of it right away it will be super flakey and fall apart.  Don't worry, it firms up nicely.  You're going to like this!!