Earl Grey Banana Bread Recipe (with Tea-Soaked Raisins)

By: Andy Hayes

I'll be honest -- banana bread isn't my favorite recipe. I'd rather have a slice of olive oil cake or cardamom coffee cake (because really, in this case bread and cake are interchangeable terms).

But, we recently encountered those quickly browning organic bananas that are the bane of any cook's existence. They were beyond salvageable, except for one thing...bread! I decided it was high time for me to change my tune on this recipe, so I went for a twist: Earl Grey banana bread. In this case, I included not only a splash of tea in the recipe itself, but I also did Earl Grey-soaked raisins. It has changed my mind on how yummy banana bread is, whether you're having it for breakfast, a tea time treat, or a midnight snack.
And best of all? It's so easy to make!

Earl Grey Banana Bread with Raisins

Ingredients:

1 cup of Earl Grey tea, brewed strong and cooled
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3 to 4 average-sized bananas)
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/2 cups flour (I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Flour, but all purpose will work fine also.)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar (for topping, to taste)

Preparation:
Take cup of tea and drop in raisins. Allow to soak for 30-60 minutes. Once finished, drain off all liquid except for 1/2 cup of tea.
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a medium-sized loaf pan or two small loaf pans with butter or olive oil.
In a large bowl, combine sugar, butter, eggs, bananas, yogurt, tea, vanilla extract, and cinnamon until well mixed. Stir in raisins, flour, baking soda, and salt just until combined (do not overmix).
Pour into pan and sprinkle sugar on top for a crunchy topping. Bake approximately 1 hour or until knife inserted into center comes out clean.
Allow bread to cool completely before serving. You can make ahead of time -- it's wonderful the next day.

Pairs wonderfully with a bit of honey butter and a cup of tea. You don't have to pair it with Earl Grey -- Oregon Breakfast hazelnut tea with orange or Chocolate Hazelnut tea would both be fine choices.

Andy Hayes

Andy Hayes is the founder and creator of Plum Deluxe. He authors our award-winning weekly email newsletter, The Blend and curates our popular organic tea of the month club.

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