Dominique Ansel’s Banana Bread with Streusel Crumble

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I’m excited to share the banana bread recipe, from Chef Dominique Ansel’s new cookbook Everyone Can Bake. It’s the follow up to his debut book, The Secret Recipes, which featured many of his signature bakery items. I made the Cronut, Frozen S’more and Cookie Shots, but the recipes were definitely more technically involved. In his latest offering, the recipes are geared for the home cook, which is very appropriate during this pandemic. He shares takes on classics including pound cake, banana bread, brownies and more. I like how the book is structured. There are base, filling and topping recipes, and within each of those, he offers easy tweaks. Ultimately, I decided to top mine with streusel.

I think the banana bread is delicious on its own, but with the addition of the streusel crumble, the texture and crunch are lovely. Plus, the bit of fleur de sel really comes through. I used really overripe bananas, which resulted in a loaf that was sweetened just right. I like to bake the loaf in a pullman tin to give the loaf straight sides and more height, however a traditional loaf would work just as well. Note, I had extra batter, so a muffin tin came in handy for the overage.

My Go-To Banana Bread
From Dominique Ansel’s Everyone Can Bake

I tasted banana bread for the first time when I moved to America. Even though it’s traditionally baked in a loaf pan, I loved its flavor so much that I thought it could be a component to build even more desserts. Its forgiving texture-moist and easy to slice-allowed me to experiment with it. I built it into layer cakes. I added ingredients-like pumpkin, strawberry, and zucchini, and I loved those variations, too. Think about that classic banana bread differently, and try elevating it to new levels.

Ingredients:

Streusel Crumble (1/4 of original recipe)
1/2 cup (63 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (63 g) hazelnut flour*
5 tablespoons (63 g) granulated sugar
3/8 teaspoon (1 1/2 g) fleur de sel
4 1/2 tablespoons (63 g) unsalted butter, room temperature

*If you can’t find hazelnut flour, pulse 3/4 cup (63 g) whole hazelnuts in a food processor or blender until finely ground. You can also substitute almond, pistachio, or walnut flour.

Banana Bread
2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
3/4 teaspoon (3 g) baking soda
3/4 teaspoon (2 g) ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon (5 g) salt
1 teaspoon (5 g) baking powder
3 (150 g) large eggs
2 cups (400 g) overripe bananas, about 4, peeled and mashed
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks / 200 g) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing

Equipment:
8-inch (20 cm) round cake pan or 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch (21 x 11 cm) loaf or pullman pan
Stand mixer with paddle attachment, for streusel (optional)

Directions:

Streusel Crumble:

In a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a medium bowl using a spatula), combine the all-purpose flour, hazelnut flour, sugar, and fleur de sel. Add the butter and mix to combine. Using your fingers, break up the streusel dough into pieces about the size of marbles. (Alternatively, push the dough through the holes of a wire rack to get pieces of a more uniform size.) Place the bowl in the freezer while preparing the banana bread.

Banana Bread:

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter the bottom, sides, and edges of a cake or loaf pan. Pour in some flour and shake it around until the pan is evenly coated, then tap out any excess flour. If you’re using a loaf pan, you can line the bottom and sides with parchment paper instead of buttering and flouring it. (This makes cleanup a little easier.)

Combine the sugar, flour, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl.

Whisk the eggs in a separate large bowl. Mix in the mashed bananas. Pour the egg mixture over the dry ingredients and whisk until well combined. Stir in the melted butter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, filling it to 2 inches from the top. You will have extra batter that you can bake in a muffin tin. Sprinkle streusel to cover the surface of the batter entirely. Bake until the cake is golden brown, about 1 hour.

There are three ways to check if it’s done:
› Jiggle it: The cake should wiggle a little in the middle. If it wiggles a lot, it’s not ready.
› Nudge it: Press the top gently; it should bounce back to your touch.
› Poke it: Stick a toothpick or paring knife into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. While the cake is still warm, turn it out of the pan. Let cool completely if using it to build a layer cake. Otherwise, slice and eat while still warm.

For the extra streusel:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Spread the streusel over the prepared pan and bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. The edges should be crunchy and the inside still soft. Let cool completely. Use as a topping over yogurt or roasted fruit with ice cream.

Storage:
The banana bread can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or placed in an airtight container and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, place in an airtight container, and freeze for up to 3 weeks. To use the frozen banana bread, remove it from the airtight container and transfer it to the refrigerator (still in the plastic wrap) to thaw for at least 3 hours or up to overnight, until the banana bread is soft again.

Pair it with:
› Recommended fillings: curd, jam, compote, mousse, whipped ganache

Recipe re-printed and adapted with permission from Dominque Ansel’s Everyone Can Bake: Simple Recipes to Master and Mix (Simon and Schuster, 2020).

If you make it, I’d love to see! Share with me on Instagram @pastrywithjenn.