Streusel-Topped Banana Tea Bread

Everybody makes banana bread, right? There are only so many ways to make it, yet there are a bajillion recipes online and elsewhere, each of them marginally different. Mine is no exception, although the base recipe comes straight out of my mother's 1952 Watkins Hearthside Cook Book. I've added a streusel topping, which I think pushes this over the top from an excellent banana bread to a fabulous one.

The ingredients are simple: flour, sugar, shortening (I use butter flavour Crisco), baking soda and powder, eggs, salt, bananas, and walnuts. The nuts are of course optional, but unless you're allergic I highly recommend using them. They add dimension and texture to the bread. Also pictured are the streusel ingredients: flour, brown sugar, butter, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

I have occasionally made this using whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose, and there is no noticeable difference in flavour or texture. That's handy when you're trying to at least make a passing effort at being diabetic-friendly.

First step is to sift together the dry ingredients for the bread, and in a separate bowl cream together the shortening and granulated sugar. The original recipe calls for sifting the flour once, then sifting it again with the baking powder, soda, and salt, but since most modern flour is already pre-sifted I just do it once.

Then you beat the eggs into the shortening mixture. The mashed banana should equal about a cup (I had more like 1 1/4 cups, but you don't want much more than that).

Beat the flour into the shortening mixture in batches alternately with the mashed banana until all has been incorporated and the batter is mostly smooth. If you're using walnuts (or any other kind of nut you like), you stir them into the batter after the flour and banana have been completely mixed.

Spread the batter evenly in a greased 9x5-inch loaf pan. Here's where I give another unsolicited and uncompensated plug for Pam for baking... it truly is amazing.

Next you need to make the streusel topping. Mix together the flour, brown sugar, butter, nutmeg and cinnamon with a fork (or a pastry blender if you'd rather) until it forms coarse crumbs. This takes longer than you think it should, but it will happen.

Sprinkle the streusel topping as evenly as possible over the top of the batter, and then pop it into a preheated 350F oven for about an hour, until a toothpick comes out clean.

I leave it in the pan to cool, and serve it from the pan as well until it's gone. You can remove it to a rack if you want, but it's not necessary and you'll lose some of the streusel topping.

It's supposed to serve more people than it does in my house. Normal people cut it about 1/2-inch thick. Me, I love banana bread, so I tend to cut it more in the 1-inch or even 1 1/2-inch range, and then smother it in real butter. I'm figuring the nutrition information on 12 slices out of the loaf, which is sort of in the middle somewhere.

Streusel-Topped Banana Tea Bread

Serves 12

Bread:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup shortening

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

1 cup banana (ripe, mashed, about 2-3)

3/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Streusel Topping:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/8 cup butter

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F; grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.

Sift flour with baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream together shortening and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy; add eggs and beat well.

Add flour mixture alternately with banana, a small amount at a time, beating well after each addition until smooth.

Stir in walnuts; spread batter into prepared pan.

In a small bowl, mix streusel ingredients together with a fork (or pastry blender) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; sprinkle evenly on top of batter.

Bake at 350F for about 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Serving Size: 72 g

Calories: 267

Calories from Fat: 119

Total Fat: 13.2 g

Saturated Fat: 3.5 g

Trans Fat: 0.0 g

Cholesterol: 32 mg

Sodium: 150 mg

Total Carbohydrates: 34.1 g

Dietary Fiber: 1.5 g

Sugars: 15.8 g

Protein: 5.1 g

I'm including these next two pictures because I think they're neat. Also, as proof that this recipe did originally come out of the Watkins cookbook. I keep meaning to check and see if the recipe is any different in the 1937 version (which I also have, from my grandmother), but it's packed away in a box.