This month my Secret Recipe Club assignment was Rachel’s blog, The Avid Appetite. Cute name, and her recipes are great too!
If you’ve been reading a while, you know I have a banana bread obsession, fueled by my desire to beat a certain someone in this category at our state fair’s baking competition…which I have yet to do, despite many ribbons in other categories. As a result, I have shared 9 recipes for banana bread/muffins on my blog, and 26 more on my Facebook Fan Page in this album. If there is a banana bread recipe on my assigned blog for the month, I usually have to fight my inner urge/obsession to make it and usually pick another recipe. Usually. But this time, I couldn’t. It was the intriguing name.
Banana Bread Cockaigne (FYI it’s pronounced kah-kayne, not koe-kayne…big difference). *Cue the harp music.* I looked up the definition and it’s a mythical land of plenty, an imaginary place of extreme luxury and ease where physical comforts, and pleasures are always at hand (such as banana bread, but of course). In other words, fairy tale banana bread! Therefore the editing on the first photo to make it look like it was living in a fairy tale – lol.
So does the bread live up to its name? The lemon zest is such an interesting twist on the classic recipe and it does indeed give it an ethereal quality. I was skeptical but it is a truly wonderful addition to the banana flavor! I made this bread twice in one week (switching from shortening to butter, adding extra banana, a little oil, and toasted walnuts the second time to increase the flavor, moisture, and crumb) and sent some to work with Dennis to rave reviews. Then he got a romotion, so perhaps it really is fairy tale banana bread. :) Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe, Rachel!
Banana Bread Cockaigne
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture
1 ½ cups (6 ½ oz / 182 g) all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (5 1/4 oz / 150 g) granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter (3 oz / 85 g)
¾ teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 ¼ cups (9 oz / 255 g) mashed ripe banana
½ cup (1 ¾ oz / 48 g) walnuts, toasted* and chopped
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray an 8×4 loaf pan** with oil; set aside. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream sugar, butter, and lemon zest together. Add the oil and eggs and beat until well combined. Beat in the banana. Using a spatula, stir in the flour mixture until almost combined, then fold in the walnuts, being careful not to over-mix.
Spread into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Remove from pan to cool completely on a wire rack.
*To toast walnuts, spread in an even-layer on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave in 1-minute intervals, stirring with your fingers in between, until fragrant and toasted. Allow to cool before chopping.
**Most loaf pans are 9×5, which is fine to use, but your loaf will be fairly flat compared to the one in my pictures. You will also need to decrease the baking time – start checking at 40 minutes for doneness.
Recipe source: The Avid Appetite
Check out the link below to see the other Secret Recipe Club, Group C posts!
Veronica's Cornucopia 
It is so fluffy, I could definitely dive right into this lovely recipe :D
Yum!
And you can never have too many banana bread recipes!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
LikeLiked by 1 person
As I can’t stop trying new ones, I guess I’d have to agree with you!
LikeLike
It’s so light and soft..almost cakey. Thanks for sharing this gorgeous recipe, Veronica.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s funny, you and Uru thought the same thing and the pictures really do show it looking fairly fluffy. Huh. Now I need to make it again to see if it’s really true! I made it last month and my memory is that it’s fairly dense like a regular banana bread but time may have made me forget it’s true texture!
LikeLike
Fairy tale bread, indeed! Why don’t you just start a segment of SRC that just focuses on banana bread. You could make a new version every month from your assignment. I doubt anyone would mind at ALL.
LikeLiked by 1 person
LOL you might have something there.
LikeLike
I’ve got one word for you, cute! Love the post, and the bread. I love lemon zest in banana bread, so good!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s new to me but I have to agree!
LikeLike
The lemon zest makes this bread!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It does!
LikeLike
Veronica I love this banana bread look amazing and delicious!!
nice recipe!
xo
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Canela!
LikeLike
Love that he got a promotion right after bringing this bread to work. You’ll have to send desserts more often!! This sounds awesome!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well I kind of manipulated the truth to fit the blog and make it sound better – haha! I can’t actually remember if he got the promotion after the bread but it was around the same time and it’s only temporary, but still. Pretty neat. :)
LikeLike
You had me at banana bread…seriously, probably my favorite thing ever :)
LikeLiked by 1 person
I used to love it….but I’ve made waaaay too many loaves for it to be my favorite. It’s just amazing I still have any fondness for it at all any more! haha!
LikeLike
mmm i’m totally interested in this bread! love the lemon zest. so fun. congrats to dennis!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh YUMMM! My favourite sweet bread!! I LOVE your blog and I was so happy to cook from it this month!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow – this bread looks and sounds amazing! i bet your house smelled amazing and it did not last long. Great SRC pick!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My favorite quick is banana bread! It always turns out great! Looks delicious! Great src pick. Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Banana Bread Cockaigne: Group C Blogger | The Secret Recipe Club
Always looking for a better naner bread recipe. And with LOTS of ripe naners in the freezer this will probably be my wknd bake.
LikeLike
Love this! I am such a big banana bread fan. :) Yours looks lovely! I am visiting from Group A. :)
LikeLike
Yay for Dennis’s promotion!! THat’s so exciting. :) I’m sure your banana bread brought him a bit of good luck. It does look pretty fairy tale-like to me!
LikeLike
Yummy! Love banana bread with a hot cup of coffee. :)
LikeLike
I’ve actually never thought of adding lemon zest to banana bread – looks delish!
LikeLike
Can I sub the all purpose flour with gluten free all purpose flour?
LikeLike
I don’t have enough gluten-free baking experience to answer that question with confidence, but I would think so!
LikeLike
Thank you!
LikeLike
Lemon zest in banana bread? I would have never thought of it, but this does look delicious. The crumb – so fluffy but not dry. YUM!
LikeLike
Your banana bread obession is inspiring. I have what seems like a gazillion pounds of over ripe bananas in my freezer that need to be put to good baking use-
Good luck with your competition!
Velva
LikeLike