I've used the first recipe quite a few times and meant to get it in the blog for safe-keeping. (My daughter will tell you that the whole reason for this blog was because of the many recipes I have misplaced over the years.) The second one was a recipe that I had seen floating around on Facebook and it has a surprise ingredient that intrigued me. So without out further ado, and because you are probably in a hurry like everybody else these days.....
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Easy Cake-Mix Banana Bread
1 box Betty Crocker cake mix (choose cake mix flavor from recipe variations below)
1/3 cup oil
3 eggs
4 mashed bananas
Additional ingredients as required for variations below
Heat oven to 350 F. Generously spray 2 (9x5 inch) loaf pans with cooking spray; lightly flour pans.
Select your favorite banana bread recipe variation from those below.
In large bowl, beat all ingredients above plus ingredients from selected variation below until well mixed. Divide batter evenly between pans.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of loaves comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on cooling racks. Remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Makes 2 loaves, 12 slices each.
Variations:
Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Banana Bread: Chocolate cake mix, 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Chocolate Chip-Banana Bread: Yellow cake mix, 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Banana Split Bread: Cherry chip cake mix, 1 jar (6 oz) maraschino cherries (cut in half), 1/2 cup chopped almonds (can be served with a drizzle of hot fudge sauce and a dollop of whipped cream)
Banana-Butterscotch Bread: Butter pecan cake mix, 1 bag (12 oz) butterscotch chips (2 cups)
Cinnamon-Sugar Banana Bread: White cake mix, 2 tablespoons cinnamon-sugar. Before baking, sprinkle cinnamon-sugar over batter in each pan
Strawberry-Banana Bread: Strawberry cake mix, 1 cup frozen strawberries, thawed, drained, and chopped (This took much longer to cook. Next time I might possibly only use 2 bananas in the recipe)
Spiced Banana-Cream Cheese Swirl Bread: Spice cake mix, 1 pkg 8 oz. cream cheese mixed with 1 egg and 1/2 cup sugar. Spread one quarter of batter in each loaf pan. On top of batter in each pan, spread half of cream cheese mixture. Swirl remaining batter over cream cheese layer in each pan.
Hawaiian Banana Bread: White cake mix, 1 cup macadamia nuts (chopped), 1 cup shredded coconut
TIPS: Freeze overrip bananas until you have enough to make this luscious bread. Just pop them, peel and all, into the freezer. They can stay there for up to 3 months.
Grease and flour your pans before pouring the batter into them, and you'll have a lot less of a mess to clean up afterward. To grease them properly, your pans need to be sprayed with a good layer of cooking spray, then tossed with 1/4 cup Gold Medal All-Purpose flour until all sides of the pan are coated with flour. Gently tap out any excess flour. Your pans are now ready for the batter and baking.
Source: Betty Crocker.com. You cana find it here.
Cook's notes: I like to use the little mini semi-sweet chocolate chips in breads because it makes the slicing easier. Also, I really like to use Baker's Joy, which is a cooking spray mixed with flour. Easy, easy. This is such a great base recipe. I think you could come up with a lot more fun combinations.
Also, the BC recipe said to mix in choc chips, etc. in the first mixing, but old habits die hard and I just folded the chocolate chips, etc. in after the base ingredients were mixed and before I put it in the pans.
Above: You can also make this banana bread in a bundt pan. If you do so, bake it for 45 minutes.
1 cup butter-pecan ice cream, softened (I used vanilla bean)
3/4 c. self-rising flour
1 tablespoon sugar
In a small bowl, combine the ice cream, flour, and sugar. Transfer to a 5-3/4in x 3-in. x 2-in loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack.
Yield 6 small slices
Source: Taste of Home.com
Cook's note: This uses the tiny pans, most often used for gift giving. I'm not going to kid you, this has a little bit of a funky texture, but it was good. And I was a lazy cook and when I got around to cleaning the bowl, it was like glue....so you can only wonder what ice cream is made of. The submitter on Taste of Home said to be sure and use full-fat ice cream for best results. She said that she pared it down for two, so I'm guessing you could double or triple it for a bigger loaf. It was really easy to make and since there are endless varieties of ice cream, you could have endless flavors of bread. Quicker than quick!
9/28/13 Update: I tried the ice cream bread using some strawberry swirl ice cream. It was sooo easy! What a fun bread to make. Endless variations depending on what kind of ice cream you choose to use. I think I would add more than just a tablespoon of sugar though. I would have liked the bread to be a little bit sweeter. I doubled the recipe above and cooked it in a regular loaf pan for 45 minutes. It made a small loaf. It you wanted a larger loaf cooked in a regular loaf pan, I would triple the recipe above and bake it for 45-60 minutes, or until a toothpick came out clean. I'll have to try this again with another flavor and triple the recipe. I will report back at that time!
Above: The strawberry swirl made for a really pastel color of pink bread. Tasty stuff!
I love making banana bread using cake mix. It never falls that way! Always a nicely risen, fluffy loaf! I have a pretty similar banana bread recipe using a cake mix already on here, but honestly, I've always made it in a bundt pan, so it is nice to have the proof that it looks and tastes just as fantastic when made in a loaf pan.
ReplyDeleteI've wanted to try that ice cream bread for awhile now. I'll have to try it out. I don't have any self-rising flour on hand, so I'll have to experiment with leavening agents. :) (or buy some self-rising flour...whichever comes first)