Tahini banana bread

Tahini and banana is an underrated combination. There’s something about the slight bitterness and rich creaminess of the tahini that perfectly complements the sweetness of the banana. Once I started adding tahini and banana to my morning oatmeal, I was forever changed. This tahini banana bread is inspired by my love of this flavor combination for breakfast. The bread is beautifully moist, packed with bananas, and has a slight nuttiness and savory quality from the tahini. The topping is where this bread ascends to another level–the tahini swirl gives the crust a pleasant chew and a rich nuttiness, while the sesame seeds add a satisfying crunch.

There are so many banana bread recipes out there that I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel. Instead, I started with the tried and true BA’s Best Banana Bread. This banana bread has a high volume of bananas for a deep banana flavor, a lofty height (no sunken loaves here!), and a moist, light texture from the whipping of butter and addition of yogurt. The key to this base recipe is to cream the butter and sugar together for a full four minutes to incorporate enough air into it. The butter should be room temperature, meaning if you press down with your finger, it easily makes an indent but the butter is firm enough that your finger doesn’t come away super greasy. I made some minor tweaks to the methods and ingredients and added in 1/3 cup of tahini and a pinch of ground cardamom for warmth.

To bring out the tahini flavor, tahini is mixed with confectioners’ sugar, placed in dollops on top of the loaf, and swirled. The loaf is topped with a generous sprinkle of sesame seeds. Once baked, the loaf stays perfectly moist all week long and keeps improving in flavor. The tahini swirl holds up well over several days, adding some extra substance and light chew to the light and fluffy bread.

Next time you’re making banana bread and are looking for some breakfast inspiration, give this variation a try. The bitterness from the tahini paired with the bananas yields a loaf with just the right amount of sweetness, making this a perfectly acceptable breakfast banana bread. If you want to up the sweetness, these flavors would pair wonderfully with chocolate chunks.

Tahini banana bread

Recipe by MoniqueCourse: Breakfast bakes, BreadDifficulty: Quick bake

Yields

1

loaf

Prep time

15

minutes

Bake time

60

minutes

This tahini banana bread is beautifully moist, packed with bananas, and has a slight nuttiness and savory quality from the tahini, resulting in the perfect not-too-sweet loaf. A sweetened tahini swirl on top gives the crust a pleasant chew and a rich nuttiness, while the sesame seeds add a satisfying crunch.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (210g) all-purpose flour

• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom

• 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp packed brown sugar (186g)

• 3 Tbsp butter, room temperature

• 1 1/2 cups mashed banana, very ripe (3-4 bananas)

• 1/3 cup plain yogurt or Greek yogurt

• 1/3 cup tahini, well mixed

• 2 large eggs

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• For the topping

• 3 Tbsp tahini

• 1 Tbsp confectioners’ sugar

• Sesame seeds for sprinkling (optional)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease your loaf pan on all sides with some butter or nonstick spray and line with parchment paper running from one of the long sides to the other, creating a little hammock or sling for the loaf.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cardamom.
• Then, in a large bowl beat together the brown sugar, yogurt, and butter until light and fluffy. Set a timer for four minutes while you beat with an electric mixer to ensure you beat for long enough to incorporate lots of air into the butter.
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until the egg is fully incorporated. Then, add the tahini, mashed bananas, and vanilla and briefly beat until mixed together.
• Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and use a spatula or wooden spoon to stir together until just combined and there are no more flour patches. Pour into the prepared loaf pan.
• In a small bowl, stir together the tahini and confectioners’ sugar. Dollop it in spoonfuls across the top of the bread, making about five dollops until you have used all of the tahini. Then using a chopstick, skewer, or handle of a spoon, swirl from one dollop to another. Make a few long, sweeping strokes, alternating the order by which you pass your chopstick through the dollops. At this point, it will just look like beige on beige and be very unimpressive but the color and pattern will stand out once it bakes.
• Sprinkle the top generously with sesame seeds. Place in the oven and bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for at least one hour before removing the loaf.
• The loaf will last well for about one week. It keeps best when stored back in the loaf pan, with a piece of plastic wrap covering the cut side.

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