Banana Bread with Streusel-Nut Topping

There was a bake sale going on in my city today and I was wracking my brain trying to come up with something that people would want to buy. People want to buy what looks good. Hmmm....what can I make that looks AND tastes good?? I'm not good at decorating with frosting, so cupcakes or frosted cookies were out. I then thought to make this yummy banana bread with streusel topping. I'll be honest-I NEVER make sweet breads according to recipe. Usually I substitute whole wheat flour and cut the sugar and oil. After all, I don't want to feel high as a kite after breakfast (which by the way, if you do eat sweet breads for breakfast, you might as well have a piece of cake-same thing without the frosting!!) Anyway, I made this recipe just as it said-after all, I wanted it to sell! haha. I LOVED how it turned out. I will use this recipe again if I'm ever hosting a baby shower or something like that. I sliced the pieces thick and with the steusel topping, it looked incredible!

I used a regular bread pan and look how high the bread got! It would have been bad news had I used a narrow and smaller loaf pan. I'm pretty sure it would have overflowed for sure.

Banana Bread with Streusel-Nut Topping
Source: Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book

2 C all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon (I used 1/2 tsp)

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg (I used 1/4 tsp)

1/4 tsp salt

2 beaten eggs

1 1/2 C mashed bananas (5 medium)

1 C sugar

1/2 C cooking oil or melted butter or margarine

1/4 C chopped walnuts (I didn't add these)

1 recipe Streusel-Nut Topping (optional)

1. Grease bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of one 9x5x3 or two 7 1/2 x3 1/2 x 2 inch loaf pans; set aside. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl combine eggs, bananas, sugar and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened, batter should be lumpy. Fold in nuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan(s). If desired, sprinkle Streusel-Nut Topping over batter.

3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 55-60 minutes for a 9x5x3 inch pan, or 40-45 minutes for 7 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 2 inch pan, or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean (if necessary, cover loosely with foil the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning. Cool in pan on a wire rack for ten minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing. (Make sure you check the bread and that the toothpick comes out clean. Nothing worse and cutting into bread and realizing its not cooked all the way!! I'm pretty sure mine had to cook at least 20 minutes over the stated 60 minutes cooking time, so be prepared to check the bread often and to let it cook longer if needed. If it would have needed any more cooking time, I would have had to cover the top with foil to prevent it from burning).

Streusel-Nut Topping

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 C packed brown sugar and 3 TBS all-purpose flour. Using a pastry blender, cut in 2 TBS room-temperature butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/3 C chopped walnuts. *I didn't have a pastry blender so I just used 2 knives to cut the butter in. When I got tired of that, I used my fingers to mix the rest of the way. :)