The Best Banana Bread (with Cake Flour!)

Get ready for the best banana bread out there! This Banana Bread with Cake Flour is moist and made with ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen!

Bananas are one of those products that I get in the grocery, think everyone will eat them, and then they inevitably end up going brown on the counter. Once they get too brown, no one is touching them! That's when I have to figure out what recipes to make with them. Banana bread is always a good idea! It's easy to make, uses a lot of bananas, and it's versatile!

Can You Make Banana Bread with Cake Flour?

Yes! You can make banana bread with cake flour. Cake flour is simply flour with a lower protein content, leading to a softer texture in baked goods that it is used in. The flour has a lower protein content which leads to a softer, more delicate bread than a bread flour or all purpose flour would make. Since this recipe is more of a quick bread, it's great to use. You wouldn't use cake flour in bread recipes, but you can in muffins, scones, or baked donuts.

There are a lot of different types of flour. When thinking of bread flour vs all purpose flour, the big difference is protein, just like in all purpose flour vs cake flour.

Ingredients to Gather

• Cake flour. So what is cake flour anyway? Cake flour is a type of flour that has a lower protein content, leading to the a fluffy texture. As the name states, it is often used to cakes because it has a softer texture. If it is going to be used in breads, it's used in quick breads like this recipe.
• Overripe bananas. You'll want 3 overripe bananas or 1 ½ cup of mashed bananas.
• Brown sugar. Even though the bananas are very sweet, you'll want to add some more sugar to sweeten this quick bread even further. Plus, we'll be adding brown sugar to the top for a sweet topping!
• Baking soda. This helps the banana bread rise and adds to the soft texture of the bread.
• Melted butter. Vegetable oil, coconut oil, olive oil, or avocado oil will all work in this banana bread.

Be sure to check out the printable recipe card for full recipe information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

Banana bread is great because it is a base recipe. Add 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 cup of chopped walnuts, a swirl of Nutella, or a swirl of peanut butter. You can also add a cinnamon streusel topping like in my cinnamon streusel banana bread. If you want to make these even more decadent, slather on some 3 ingredient cream cheese frosting!

This batter would also be great in muffins! Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray and scoop the batter into the muffin tin. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.

How To Make Banana Bread with Cake Flour

Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, mix together the cake flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix well.

Step 2: In a separate large bowl, add the melted butter and brown sugar. Mix well.

Step 3: Peel the bananas and add them to the bowl. Mash the bananas into the butter and sugar.

Step 4: Crack the eggs into the bowl. Mix again.

Step 5: Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined and there are no more dry ingredients in the bowl.

Step 6: Grease a loaf pan with butter or cooking spray. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.

Tips and Tricks

• Allow the banana bread to cool completely before cutting into it and before removing it from the loaf pan. This will make sure the banana bread stays together as it cools.
• To check for doneness, stick a toothpick into the center of the loaf. The toothpick will not be completely dry as this is a very moist quick bread. There should be a few crumbs, but not too much.
• Make sure the bananas are perfectly ripe! See the image below to see when to use your bananas.
• If you don't have cake flour, all purpose flour, or bread flour can all be used instead. You can even use a mixture of flours in this banana bread.

How To Quickly Ripen Bananas

If you are like me, you often buy a bunch of bananas, thinking everyone will eat them, and then they end up going brown on the counter. Too brown and they are not great for baking as they can taste quite overripe and almost sour.

Too yellow and they won't have enough sweetness to sweeten the bananas. The graphic below shows the different stages of bananas and when you should bake with them.

• If you are buying bananas specifically for baking with them, bring them home from the grocery store and place them in a brown paper bag. Add an apple and the bananas will be perfect for baking in a day or two. The gases from the apple quickly ripen the bananas.
• You can also quickly bake the bananas. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F and place the bananas on a baking sheet. Bake them for 5-8 minutes or until the outside is dark and the bananas is softened.
• You can also do what I do and leave them out on the counter and forget about them! Then make banana bread with pancake mix or this delicious quick bread recipe!

Storage Info

The leftover banana bread should be stored in an airtight container or a gallon sized Ziploc bag. Keep it on the counter and cut off a slice whenever you are ready to enjoy it. Do not place the bread in the refrigerator. This will cause it to go stale quickly. When you enjoy this banana bread, here's a bunch of recipes to serve with banana bread!

Banana bread is perfect to freeze! Freeze the baked loaf in a freezer safe container or in a Ziploc bag. It will stay fresh in the freezer bag for up to 3 months. I've gotten even longer out of breads too if they are stored properly.

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