Caramelized Banana Bread

Banana bread is great, right? Caramelized Banana Bread is miles better than standard banana bread, and once you get a taste of this fantastic caramelized banana version, you’ll never want it any other way!

If you’ve got a favorite banana bread, I challenge you to try this Caramelized Banana Bread recipe! It’s everything good banana bread should be: moist, flavorful, and loaded with bananas. But when you caramelize the bananas first, you deepen and intensify the flavor. Oh, and then there’s the INSANELY good drizzle on top. The dulce de leche glaze really sets this banana bread apart! 

Personally, I think banana bread can get kind of boring.  So, when I was looking at the overripe bananas that I had sitting on my kitchen counter, I decided that not only did I want to use them up, but I also wanted to do a rock-your-socks-off kind of banana bread. Something that is anything but ordinary and boring.Usually, when I create recipes, I do it through trial and error.  This time, the banana fairies must have been sprinkling their good recipe mojo down on me because I got it right the first time.  How ’bout them apples….er, bananas?

Ingredients

  • Butter
  • Brown sugar
  • Ripe bananas – 3 medium or 2 large bananas will be enough.
  • Buttermilk
  • Vegetable oil
  • Vanilla extract – Pure or artificial.
  • Eggs
  • All-purpose flour
  • Baking soda
  • Salt
  • Sweetened condensed milk – 1 14-ounce can.

How To Make the Best Caramelized Banana Bread Ever!

There are a few steps to this caramel banana bread recipe, and you can get the sweetened condensed milk caramelized a day ahead of time. This will make the dulce de leche drizzle for the banana bread. You can also buy cans of dulce de leche now, in case you want to skip this step.

  1. Slice the bananas and add them to the butter in a skillet, sprinkle the brown sugar over the top, and cook them for about 10 minutes.
  2. Add them to a mixing bowl and puree them with a whisk or mixer.
  3. Mix the buttermilk, oil, vanilla extract, and egg in a small bowl. Set this aside.
  4. Whisk the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt together in another bowl.
  5. Add half the flour mixture to the bananas, then half the buttermilk mixture. Repeat, ending with the flour. Mix on low speed until just combined.
  6. Pour half the batter into a greased loaf pan, then sprinkle on more brown sugar – because more caramelized flavor is awesome! 
  7. Add the remaining batter on top, then bake in a preheated 350-F oven until the banana bread is golden brown on top and set in the middle.
  8. Remove the banana bread from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. 
  9. Drizzle the dulce de leche over the top and dig in!

How To Make Dulce De Leche Drizzle For Banana Bread

It’s a good idea to make the dulce de leche ahead of time because it cooks at a different temperature than your banana bread. Make it then cover it with plastic wrap and pop it into the fridge until you’re ready for it. Then, just warm it up and drizzle it onto the still-warm loaf. Alternatively, make the dulce de leche as soon as the banana bread has finished baking.

  1. Pour a can of sweetened condensed milk into a glass pie dish and cover it with foil.
  2. Set the pie dish into a larger dish (like a roaster) and add enough hot water to the larger dish so that the water comes halfway up the side of the pie dish.
  3. Bake this at 425-F for about an hour or until the sweetened condensed milk is brown and caramelized.

How To Tell When Banana Bread Is Cooked

You might have heard of using an inserted toothpick to tell if banana bread is cooked. If the toothpick comes out clean, it’s cooked, right? Wrong! If the toothpick comes out clean, you’ve overcooked your banana bread with caramelized bananas. It’ll still be delicious, but ideally, an inserted toothpick should still have a few crumbs clinging to it. This means it is still moist inside, and the residual heat will carry over the cooking until it is perfect.

What To Do With Extra Dulce De Leche?

Reserve any remaining dulce de leche for smothering on top of each slice for an even more decadent treat.  Serve a slice with a cup of coffee – and stir a dollop into your coffee too.  Too much of this is a good thing, trust me.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to bake banana bread with caramel sauce?

The baking time depends on the size of your loaf pan, but baking it at 350-F should take between 45 and 60 minutes. The dulce de leche sauce will take another 60 minutes.

What is dulce de leche?

Dulce de leche is a sweet, rich carmel sauce. It’s made from sweetened condensed milk.

Are there nuts in Caramelized Banana Bread?

This is a nut-free recipe. You can add a handful of chopped walnuts if you like, but there are no nuts in the recipe as it is written.

CARAMELIZED BANANA BREAD WITH DULCE LE LECHE GLAZE

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • ¾ cup brown sugar + ⅔ cup brown sugar divided
  • 3 medium ripe bananas or 2 large
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×5″ loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
  • Slice the bananas. Over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the bananas and brown sugar and saute for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.
  • Place the banana mixture in a large bowl & beat with an electric mixer (or by hand with a whisk) on medium speed until smooth.
  • Mix the the buttermilk, oil, vanilla extract, and eggs in a small bowl. Set aside. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Beginning and ending with the flour mixture, alternately add it to the banana mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined.
  • Pour half the batter into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle on ⅓ cup brown sugar. Top with remaining batter, then sprinkle on the other ⅓ cup brown sugar.
  • Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes or until golden brown on top and a pick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it. Cool for 10 minutes in the loaf pan. Remove the bread from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
  • Meanwhile, make your dulce de leche. Pour the can of sweetened condensed milk into a glass pie dish & cover with foil. Place that pie dish in a larger dish (like a roaster) and pour enough hot water in to where it comes up halfway on the pie dish. Bake at 425 degrees for 1 hour.
  • Drizzle the warm dulce de leche over the cooled banana bread. Reserve any extra dulce le leche to spread on individual slices of bread.
Caramelized Banana Bread with Dulce le Leche Glaze