This unique Cardamom Ginger Banana Bread is not your average banana bread! This recipe has tons of banana flavor and fragrant spices. It’s honestly next-level. I promise, this will be the LAST banana bread recipe you will ever need!
Happy Sunday 🙂 I’m sure most of you know about the banana bread craze that’s been happening recently. Basically, lots of people started baking during quarantine and naturally, that meant lots of banana bread since it’s so easy to make.
I wonder, did any of you try your hand at making banana bread during quarantine? How’d it turn out? Let me know in the comments below! Depending on how much success you’ve had trying to make the perfect banana bread, you already know that all banana breads are NOT created equal.
What Makes this Banana Bread Unique
I swore I wouldn’t join the banana bread train because I’ve made lots of banana bread before.
I’ve even posted a banana bread recipe on the blog. But like everyone else, I ended up with a bunch of overripe bananas, so here we are lol. But wow, am I glad I decided to experiment, because I think I’ve created a holy grail recipe! This banana bread recipe is honestly in a league of it’s own.
How to Make Amazing Banana Bread
Banana bread is already a Caribbean recipe in my mind because bananas are a tropical fruit, but the addition of spices like cardamom, ginger, and cinnamon makes this banana bread even more islandy.
The basic ingredients are all pantry staples — egg, flour, butter, and sugar.
This recipe couldn’t be simpler.
- Beat together sugar and butter. Then add eggs one at a time to make sure the bread is fluffy and light.
- Add spices. If you’ve never tried baking with cardamom before, do it now! Cardamom has a very fragrant aroma, and the taste ranges from citrusy, to gingery, to sometimes slightly spicy. Though cardamom originated in Southeast Asia, it is commonly used all over the world, including in the Caribbean. It’s a perfect fall spice, especially when paired with cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla.
- Add mashed bananas. Use overripe bananas! See below for my trick to getting ripe bananas fast.
- Gently fold flour into the batter. The key is to not overwork the batter, or the bread will become too dense.
- Bake until golden brown and delicious!
So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and make this banana bread recipe NOW! You will thank me.
What if my bananas are not ripe enough?
So you want to make banana bread but your grocery store didn’t have overripe bananas and you just can’t wait?
A simple trick to making bananas ripe faster. Just wrap the bananas (skin on) in a paper towel and microwave in 30 second intervals. Flip the bananas over and repeat until your bananas start to turn black. Let them rest for about a minute and they will continue to change color. Easy huh?!
Banana Bread Heaven?
Let’s recap all the reasons this bread is so amazing.
It’s moist.
There are so many warm and delicious spices.
And it’s super easy to make!
This Cardamom Ginger Banana Bread is next level banana bread because it’s moist, has tons of banana flavor, has just the right amount of sweetness, and has a unique taste that will have you coming back for slice after slice.
Guys, just the smell of this bread baking in your oven may make you suddenly start dancing.
It’s THAT good.
I mean just see how delicious this bread looks? Make this recipe now!
Looking for more delicious recipes? Try:
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Cardamom Ginger Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 3 overripe bananas, 1 sliced in half lengthwise
- 1 1/2 cup AP flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 stick (8tbsp) room temperature butter (salted)
- 3 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 2 tsp freshly grated ginger
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Grease a 9x9 loaf pan. Line with parchment paper and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Using a wooden spoon, cream together butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs to bowl one at a time and beat until smooth. You can also complete this step using a stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment.
- To the bowl, add honey, apple sauce, baking soda, baking powder, ground cardamom, freshly grated ginger, cinnamon, vanilla extract, nutmeg and salt.
- Peel and mash 2 of the bananas, along with one half of the third banana that was cut lengthwise. Reserve the other half of the third banana to top the bread. Add mashed bananas to the sugar and spice mixture.
- Using a spatula, gently fold flour into the ingredients. Be careful not to over mix the batter, stop mixing once all the flour has been incorporated
- Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of bread comes out clean. Allow bread to cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!
Did You Make This Recipe?
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8 Comments
This banana bread turned out amazing! It is so delicious and I love the combination of these ingredients – they work beautifully together.
So glad to hear it Jennifer <3! Banana bread for the win!
This looks soooo good! Any suggestion for measurements if using dried ginger?
Hi Jessica,
I haven’t tried this recipe using dried ginger, but since dried ginger is more potent than fresh ginger, I would start by using half the amount of ginger called for in this recipe. Let me know if that works! Note, I would not suggest using crystallized ginger for this recipe.
It smells even better than it tastes. I did need to use dried powdered ginger, I went with 1 tsp and it’s really good.
I have made this twice now. It is delicious! I had a nectarine that I needed to use up so I added it in this time. It worked in nicely with the ginger and cardamom. The first time I made it, I forgot to place the sliced banana on top. This time I remembered and oh what a treat! Dani, your recipe is perfect.I look forward to trying out more of your recipes.
Thank you Layla, I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! And using nectarines sounds amazing!