secondchancebaker

I made the following substitutions: 1. For pecans, substituted 1/2 c walnuts, toasted in toaster oven for 5 min. @ 375 degrees F & 1/2 c raisins soaked in 2 Tbsp brandy & 2 Tbsp water. 2. Reduced brown sugar to 1 c. 3. Added an additional 1/4 c applesauce as a substitute for the oil. 4. Used the remaining brandy water from raisins for the 1/4 of water. I really enjoyed the crunchy, caramelized crust this modified recipe initially made, but it softened a bit after being stored in a ziplock bag after the first day. The crumb actually improved in flavor after the first day as well.

It's edible, but definitely not my favorite. Made a very, very dense loaf that's very chewy, probably because there's no fat in it. Recipe adjusted for 9 servings and I modified the total sugar to 1/4 c white sugar and 1/2 c dark brown sugar. I also used 1 egg + 1 1/2 Tbsp. egg substitute. This is the first banana bread recipe I've ever read that included vanilla so I decreased the vanilla to 1 tsp. It could easily be omitted. I did add the walnuts and raisins.

Thank you emnd1204 for reviewing my recipe. The original recipe called for 2 pieces of bread. I did not specify "white" bread. I left this up to the cook. Personally I haven't eaten white bread since I was a child. I prefer whole wheat myself. If you consider the recipe ingredients you will see that it contains 1 cup of rolled oats and 1 cup of wheat germ. Also in the original recipe, the vegetables that surrounded the loaves were mashed prior to placing in the storage containers to allow for easier digestion. My dogs always picked at these and often left them uneaten. The recipe was changed by the editors when they reviewed it.

I CHANGED THIS RECIPE A LITTLE AND I GOT RAVES FROM MY COWORKERS WHEN I SHARED A LOAF WITH THEM. Prior to making this recipe the first time, I read the first page of reviews. I too wondered if the ingredient of salt had been erroneously omitted so added 1/2 tsp. of salt to my SINGLE loaf recipe the FIRST TIME I baked this banana bread. As I was assembling my ingredients, I realized I didn’t have any unsweetened cocoa powder but I did have a box of Hershey’s all natural unsweetened bakers chocolate bars. I added 2 bars/oz. to a stick of butter, (I never use margarine), and melted them very slowly together over the simmer burner on my gas stove turned all the way down in a stainless steel mixing bowl. I added the sugar to the butter cocoa mixture and once this cooled down I added the eggs. I also used regular sour cream and added a cup of chopped walnuts and instead of 1/2 c. of chocolate chips, I added 3/4 c. Ambrosia semisweet chocolate chips that can be purchased at Costco in a 6 lb. bag, (I’m a serious chocoholic). I felt the loaf was just a bit too chocolaty because you could barely taste the bananas. Everyone asked me what kind of cake it was. The SECOND time I made this SINGLE loaf recipe I added 1 tsp. of salt, 1.5 oz. of Hershey’s all natural unsweetened bakers chocolate bars, 1 c. of the Ambrosia semisweet chocolate chips and 1/2 c. of chopped pecan’s. I like the second version a little better but both versions were very good.