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Christmas Banana Bread (Cinnamon Gift Loaf)

Sliced Christmas banana bread on a serving board.
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5 from 3 reviews

This Christmas banana bread with cinnamon is a moist holiday quick bread packed with overripe bananas, walnuts, and dried cranberries. Baked in mini loaf pans, each festive loaf wraps up neatly with a printable gift tag, making it a thoughtful edible Christmas gift.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 5.3 oz. (150 g) butter softened
  • 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (175 g) brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 2/3 cup + 4 tablespoons (240 g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons (10 g) baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 pinch of ground cloves
  • 1 cup (250 g) bananas, mashed 
  • 1/4 cup (40 g) cinnamon chips
  • 1/4 cup (30 g) dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup (30 g) chopped walnuts
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) dark rum

For the streusel topping:

  • 2 1/2 tablespoons (20 g) all-purpose flour
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons (20 g) almond flour
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons (20 g) icing (powdered) sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon (20 g) salted butter, chilled

For decoration:

  • icing (powdered) sugar

*Don't you have the correct baking pan on hand right now? Try this simple Cake Pan Converter!

**If needed, please refer to Baking Conversion Charts.

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Butter and flour four porcelain mini loaf pans (9 oz. each).
  2. To make the bread batter, use an electric mixer to beat softened butter and brown sugar in a large bowl for about 5 minutes.
  3. Add eggs (at room temperature), dry ingredients (all-purpose flour sifted with baking powder, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves), and delicately mix with a rubber spatula.
  4. Using a fork or a potato masher, mash bananas and fold the banana mixture into the batter.
  5. Add cinnamon chips, whole or chopped cranberries, and chopped walnuts, and gently mix. Add dark rum and mix with a spatula just until combined (don't over-mix!).
  6. Pour the batter into the four prepared loaf pans, smooth it out, and refrigerate while making the streusel.
  7. To make the streusel topping, in a separate large mixing bowl, mix all-purpose flour, almond flour, icing (powdered) sugar, and chilled salted butter cut into small pieces. Work it with your hands to form a crumbly dough resembling wet sand.
  8. Take the loaf pans from the fridge and sprinkle streusel on top of the batter. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes. The sweet bread is ready when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  9. Take the bread loaves from the oven and cool them in the tins on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Then run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to carefully remove the bread from each baking pan. Or leave the bread in small pans to present it that way.
  10. To serve, sprinkle the top of the holiday bread with icing (powdered) sugar.

Notes

  1. Don't overmix the cake batter once you add the mashed bananas. Instead, gently mix to combine.
  2. Watch out for the baking time. Check the loaf for doneness: a toothpick, a long, sharp knife, or a bamboo skewer inserted in the center of the bread should come out clean.
  3. Use the same recipe to make a regular loaf in a nonstick bread pan (instead of a mini loaf pan). Bake it for 90 minutes.
  4. Cool the bread before slicing and wrapping.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://www.bakinglikeachef.com/christmas-banana-bread/