Welcome to the World, Luke (with Banana Bread!)

My sister in law recently gave birth to my first nephew, Luke. He is my little brother's second baby, and he is perfect. It is fairly peculiar to think that my baby brother now has two children of his own, but he is a loving father and a total natural. I was lucky to go up North and visit my brother and his family this past week. I was supposed to be there cooking and helping my sister in law, but I managed to not really cook at all. Instead, I spent the majority of my time playing with my toddler niece who gobbles up the extra attention right now. Of course, I also took the time to cuddle and love the new baby.


Even though I managed to not cook much while I was staying at their house, I did not arrive empty handed. I showed up bearing banana bread, but not just any banana bread - the best banana bread I have ever eaten. It was the second loaf I baked in 2 weeks because it was that good. As in I specifically went to the grocery store and bought bananas to let them get brown to make it again! As in the most decadent, moist, cake-like "bread" I have ever eaten ... and really if you call it bread, you can eat it and not feel as guilty, right?

I discovered this bread while browsing for a recipe that would utilize some browning bananas and old sour cream. I have now used both low fat sour cream and fat free Greek yogurt to make this recipe, and the bread turned out deliciously each time. The bread is thick and rich and really does feel like dessert. I normally love to slather banana bread with cream cheese, but I actually preferred this one unadorned. It takes a couple minutes to throw together, and my house smelled homey and cozy while it baked. My niece, sister in law and little brother all loved the bread as much as I did.



Sour Cream Banana Bread
By Adela Jung at Chow.com

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 very ripe medium bananas, mashed (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 1/2 cup sour cream

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with butter and dust it with flour, tapping out the excess. Whisk together 2 cups flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and cinnamon in a large bowl to aerate and break up any lumps. Set aside.
2. Combine sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes. Add bananas and sour cream and mix until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add flour mixture, and mix until just combined.
3. Turn batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, the top is golden brown, and the bread is pulling away from the sides of the pan, about 1 hour.
4. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Slide a knife around the perimeter of the pan, invert to release the bread, and cool completely on the wire rack before serving.