Description
A moist, rich banana bread with swirls of sweet cream cheese filling running through, giving it a tender crumb and tangy contrast.
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 very ripe bananas, mashed (≈1¼ to 1½ cups)
- ⅓ cup (76 g) melted butter
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- ¾ cup (150 g) sugar (use ½ cup if less sweet, 1 cup if sweeter)
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups (205 g) all‐purpose flour
- **For the cream cheese filling/swirl:** 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Grease a 4×8‑inch loaf pan.
- In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas until smooth. Stir in the melted butter.
- Add baking soda and salt. Then stir in sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract. Mix in flour until just combined.
- In a separate bowl, beat together cream cheese, egg, sugar, and flour until smooth, to make the filling.
- Pour half of the banana bread batter into the prepared loaf pan. Dollop half of the cream cheese filling over it.
- Top with the remaining banana bread batter, then dollop the rest of the cream cheese filling on top.
- Run a butter knife through the batter vertically and horizontally to create swirls.
- Bake for about 55‑60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If the top browns too fast, tent with foil.
- Cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- Use overripe bananas (with many brown spots) for best flavor.
- Don’t overmix the batter—it helps keep the bread tender.
- If top browns too quickly, cover with foil partway through baking.
- You can store the bread covered at room temperature for 3‑4 days, or freeze slices for longer.
- Make sure cream cheese is softened/room temperature to avoid lumps in the swirl.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (of 8)
- Calories: ≈ 331 kcal
- Sugar: ≈ 25 g
- Sodium: ≈ 274 mg
- Fat: ≈ 15 g
- Saturated Fat: ≈ 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: ≈ 6 g
- Trans Fat: ≈ 0 g
- Carbohydrates: ≈ 45 g
- Fiber: ≈ 1 g
- Protein: ≈ 5 g
- Cholesterol: ≈ 76 mg
