Fluffy Blueberry Banana Bread

February 23 is National Banana Bread Day, and we suggest we bake this wonderful Fluffy Blueberry Banana Bread to celebrate American cuisine together!

Here on Cooking Romania by Vivi we don’t bake often, but when we do, it’s either banana bread or apple cobbler. So today we are introducing you to half of our dessert options! 🤣

Welcome to Cooking Romania by Vivi! We are the Romanian Balls – Mother & Daughter = Vivi & Adara.

We cook easy recipes for busy people with a Romanian twist. Cooking time required under 30 minutes! Today we are introducing a slightly longer recipe, but it is worth the time and effort! Desserts are always worth going the extra mile, aren’t they?

Join us and have fun preparing mostly Romanian dishes and sometimes international recipes, such as today. We don’t post often, but when we do you know it’s fun. Each recipe has been tested and appreciated by our family and guests.

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When we don’t cook for you, we teach foreign languages or do things Accounting. Check out our website for recipes and Romanian food related stories.

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Origin of Banana Bread

The origin of the first banana bread recipe is unknown, though some speculate it was developed in the 18th century by American housewives experimenting with pearlash.

What is pearlash?

From around 1740, a powder called pearlash was used as leavening in quick breads. Pearlash’s chemical makeup is potassium carbonate, and it was created by baking potash in a kiln to remove impurities. The fine, white powder remaining was pearlash. When mixed with water, it forms a strongly alkaline solution. (Source)

The home baking revival of the 1960s and the simplicity of its recipe led to an explosion in banana bread’s popularity.

Bananas appeared in the US in the 1870s and it took a while for them to appear as ingredient items for desserts. The modern banana bread recipe started being published in cookbooks around the 1930s and the introduction of baking powder on the market helped its popularity.

How did Banana Bread Appear?

Some food historians believe banana bread was a byproduct of the Great Depression. During those trying times, housewives did not want to throw away overripe bananas (as they were quite expensive) so they started using them in the delicious banana bread. On the other hand, some historians believe the modern banana bread was developed in corporate kitchens to promote flour and baking soda.

Regardless it was developed in a corporate kitchen to promote flour and baking soda products, or marketed as a method to make use of overripe bananas, our Fluffy Blueberry Banana Bread is a perfect easy to make dessert that can bring joy to the entire family.

Banana Bread variations

1. Blueberry banana bread (or other fruits such as raspberry or orange to add additional flavors)
2. Banana raisin bread
3. Banana nut bread (with chopped nuts, such as walnuts, pecan nuts or almonds)
4. Chocolate chip banana bread

Banana bread is a classic recipe, but when you add fresh or even frozen blueberries to the mix, you end up with a surprisingly delicious treat, snack or breakfast item.

How to make Fluffy Blueberry Banana Bread?

There is one change that makes the big difference in this fantastic version of banana bread. The blueberries added to the mix give the batter a moistness and flavor that can’t be beaten by any other fruit. Frozen blueberries work equally well (as you can see in our recipe), however, they are more likely to turn the batter purple when they melt.

Tossing the blueberries in flour before you add them to the batter will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cake (or not 😊).

Some great additions to this American banana bread recipe are:

Fluffy Blueberry Banana Bread

Recipe by ViviCourse: Dessert, SnackCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

Calories

250

kcal

Total time

1

hour 

30

minutes

This Fluffy Blueberry Banana Bread is one of the easiest dessert recipes! Nothing easier than mixing together a few ingredients, greasing a pan and baking a lovely cake for an hour.

Ingredients

• 🔅100 g butter

• 🔅300 g granulated sugar

• 🔅4 slightly beaten egg yolks

• 🔅3 bananas, mashed

• 🔅100 g fresh blueberries

• 🔅200 g flour

• 🔅1⁄2 teaspoon salt (optional, we never use salt in batter)

• 🔅50 g (almond or coconut) milk (or buttermilk)

• 🔅4 stiffly beaten egg whites

• 🔅1 teaspoon baking soda

• 🔅1 tbsp hot water

• 🔅1-2 tsp vanilla extract

• 🔅150 g chopped nuts (optional)

Directions

• 🔅Preheat oven to 180 degrees C
• 🔅Grease and flour a 25 cm pan
• 🔅Cream butter with sugar (use mixer)
• 🔅Add yolks and beat
• 🔅Add mashed bananas and nuts (optional)
• 🔅Sift together flour and salt (or skip this step, like we always do)
• 🔅Combine with creamed mixture alternately with milk
• 🔅Beat whites using hand mixer
• 🔅Fold in beaten whites
• 🔅Add baking soda dissolved in water and then vanilla
• 🔅Bake for 1 hour or until cooked through

Recipe Video

Notes

• Add nuts to the mix.
• To make sure your banana bread is done, try the classic toothpick test. Insert a wooden toothpick near the center of the cake and if the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done.
• Don’t forget to toss your blueberries in flour.

Before you go, check out one of our easy Romanian no bake drunken cake recipes from Granny Victoria. We are quite proud of this one!

Thank you for using our recipe. We appreciate your visit and hard work. Please share this recipe with your friends! You can make someone happy today :).

Vivi is a passionate teacher, story teller and photographer. Adara is a passionate accountant, businesswoman and videographer. On Cooking Romania by Vivi, the Mom and Daughter play together at the intersection of self and food mastery.