The Tuesday Treat: Olive Oil Banana Bread, Revisited

A few updates to the recipe I posted a few weeks ago, namely the swapping in of maple syrup for brown sugar and 1 egg white instead of 2 regular eggs. I have been playing around a bit with reducing the cholesterol/fat in some recipes, and made this one recently for my dad, who typically avoids egg yolks. The maple syrup is a lovely substitution here both for the flavor it imparts as well as helping to reduce the overall amount of sugar (I find that bananas are quite sweet, so you can use less sugar) – for taste and health benefits.

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup maple syrup
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 egg white
3 very ripe, mashed bananas
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
optional: 1/4 cup sliced almonds

Turn oven to 350° F, and place a rack in the center. Grease a 9- by 5- inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan, bundt pan, or two small loaf pans.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix together the olive oil, eggs, mashed banana, yogurt, and vanilla. Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and fold with a spatula until just combined. Add the nuts if using. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes. Watch so it doesn’t overbake.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn the loaf out of the pan to cool completely.