date banana bread with date jam
Date Banana Bread With Date Jam
There are many variations of banana bread out there, and I’ve tried and loved almost every single one of them. So it felt absolutely necessary to include one with the addition of some of my favorite flavors, including Medjool dates, which I fell in love with when I was living in Israel. This version isn’t overly sweet, namely because it uses plump dates instead of a ton of sugar. Their honey- caramel, jammy, candy flavor brings out the natural sweetness of the banana and coconut. Since I’ll take any opportunity I can get to add a crumb topping, this bread also gets a coconut-walnut crumble that takes the cake to the next level. I love slathering this bread with room-temp butter, creamy date jam, and honey, and finishing with a sprinkle of sea salt. I’m drooling just thinking about it.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature or melted
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus more for the pan
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 3 ripe bananas, mashed
- 6 medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 1/3 cup whole-milk yogurt or sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3 cup lightly toasted and chopped walnuts (optional)
- salted butter, flaky salt, honey, and date jam (below), for serving
- 20 medjool dates, pitted
Directions
- Make the coconut-walnut crumb topping: In a medium bowl, combine the walnuts, flour, coconut flakes, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and kosher salt. Mix until a crumble texture has formed. Set aside.
- Make the banana bread: Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2–inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, use a hand mixer or whisk to combine the melted butter with the brown sugar, bananas, dates, yogurt or sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Try to break up the dates and bananas as well as you can.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, shredded coconut, baking soda, cinnamon, and kosher salt.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the banana mixture and mix until just combined. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture. Fold in the walnuts (if using) and pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Sprinkle the crumb topping over the batter, then gently press the batter with your fingers so some of the topping gets pushed inside the bread.
- Place the pan on a baking sheet (to catch any drips) and bake until a skewer or cake tester comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. If the bread starts to get too dark, tent it with foil. Let cool slightly.
- To serve: Slice the banana bread and top with butter, a sprinkle of salt, a drizzle of honey, and jam, if desired.
- In a small pot, combine the dates with 2 cups of water. Over medium heat, simmer the dates as you break them up with a spoon. Once they start breaking down, after 3 to 5 minutes, transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until creamy. Transfer the mixture back to the pot and cook over medium heat until it thickens to a jamlike consistency, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the jam to cool before storing it in a jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.
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