Turn my plain-jane banana bread into a bombshell dessert thingy.

July 27, 2009 8:56 AM

Turn my plain-jane banana bread into a bombshell dessert thingy.

I am attending a party tonight and underestimated how much cake to bring. I made a 9 inch red velvet cake but it won't be nearly enough, it turns out.

I do have a loaf of banana bread, which is I think decent enough to be transformed into a dessert. It's your standard rectangular loaf, unsliced. It should be something simple to do (aka not hollowed out and filled with truffles, etc). I'm a fairly experienced pastry cook, but I'm stalling out on how to repurpose this.

I'm eager for your ideas!

posted by wowbobwow to food & drink (21 comments total)

Just bring fresh berries and some fresh cream to pour over the both of them! Now I am hungry.
posted by molecicco at 9:01 AM on July 27

Couple of ideas:

1. Slice and lightly toast the banana bread, serve with a warm bananas foster sauce and whipped cream.

2. Make a bread pudding with the banana bread, accompany with a rum butter sauce.
posted by prettymightyflighty at 9:01 AM on July 27 [1 favorite has favorites]

Sliced, toasted and served with a small amount of ginger ice cream with maple syrup on it would be my suggestion. Or possibly a ginger glaze?
posted by jessamyn at 9:01 AM on July 27

Serve warm slices with bourbon (or rum) sauce?

Bourbon Sauce

1 cup granulated sugar 6 tablespoons butter, melted 1/2 cup buttermilk 1 tablespoon (I say use more) Bourbon 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 tablespoon white corn syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla

In a sauce pan mix all ingredients. Bring to a boil for 1 minute. Serve warm.
posted by applemeat at 9:01 AM on July 27

Turn it into a bread pudding! (what prettymightflighty sez, on preview)
posted by jquinby at 9:02 AM on July 27

Is it possible to bake another red velvet cake?
posted by royalsong at 9:02 AM on July 27

Slice it into regular slices, then take each slice and make smaller slices, like ladyfingers. Serve with a hard sauce or a cream cheese frosting, chocolate shavings, walnuts.

Fondue? Small chunks of the bread, with a nice chocolate fondue to dip into. Chocolate is ridiculously good with banana bread. Whipped cream on the side.
posted by iconomy at 9:03 AM on July 27

Ah my goodness, that was fast! I should have given the caveat that it has to be alcohol free. Bread pudding looks good. So does answer #1. Keep 'em coming!
posted by wowbobwow at 9:04 AM on July 27

Peanut Butter Banana Bread Sanwiches?

♥ Slice, optionally toast, banana bread.

♥ Whip half pint heavy whipping cream.

♥ Whip 1 cup room temp. smooth peanut butter (not natural or freshly ground) until gooey and lightened.

♥ Add one third of the whipped cream to the peanut butter. Stir. This is just to lighten up the dense peanut butter and all the whipped cream is going to deflate anyway, so you can just stir it in.

♥ Add another third of the whipped cream to the peanut butter. Mix in gently.

♥ Very, very gently fold in the last of the whipped cream.

♥ Spread the peanut butter mousse between slices of banana bread with slices of banana.
posted by Juliet Banana at 9:06 AM on July 27 [2 favorites has favorites]

Make a ginger or maple-flavoured butter frosting (ginger would be more elegant, I think). Slice the banana loaf horizontally into four layers (three cuts) to make a kind of torte. Spread the frosting between the layers. Maybe add thinly sliced bananas between the layers as well. Reassemble the layers. Frost the top. Shave chocolate or add chocolate curls for decoration.

Would that work for you?
posted by angiep at 9:07 AM on July 27 [1 favorite has favorites]

A trifle?

Layer of banana bread
either spread with apricot jam or soak a bit of espresso or coffee or sweetened condensed milk
layer of whipped cream
layer of fruit
etc
posted by spec80 at 9:28 AM on July 27

Make a peanut butter frosting for the banana bread!

1/3 cup peanut butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 - 1/3 cup milk

Mix peanut butter and p0wdered sugar in medium bowl. Stir in vanilla and milk. Beat until smooth and of spreading consistency
posted by Sassyfras at 9:33 AM on July 27

Whip together some honey and cream and serve with pecans. Mmmm-mm!
posted by fearnothing at 9:34 AM on July 27

Drizzle a lime glaze over the top: Combine 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar with 1-1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice.

This glaze is from a Cooking Light recipe for banana bread that is my husband's very favorite.
posted by DrGail at 9:40 AM on July 27

Use it to make the best French toast ever.
posted by HotPatatta at 9:44 AM on July 27

Trifle or bread pudding

I made a trife w/ banana pecan loaf a while ago, and it was yummmmmy
posted by darsh at 9:45 AM on July 27

Little banana bread toasts with Nutella and powdered sugar on top? A few hazelnuts, too?
posted by A Terrible Llama at 9:52 AM on July 27

Oooh! Little banana bread paninis! With Nutella and a slice of actual banana inside.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 9:55 AM on July 27

Slice thinly, toast, layer with alternate layers of: thinly sliced fresh bananas, caramel, nutella, berry jam, etc.
posted by desuetude at 9:58 AM on July 27

Motion to adjourn.

Be it now resolved, that aforementioned banana loaf shall be rendered thus:

Slice off the dome to make a brick-ish rectangle, &
Slice into 3 horizontal layers, &
Brush simple syrup onto layers for moistness, &
Use thickened vanilla pudding as a filler (substituting pastry cream), &
Thinly glaze the exterior with more pudding, &
Generously slather with dark chocolate ganache, & there you have it.
Banana Boston Cream

tah dah?!

Thank you all.
posted by wowbobwow at 10:13 AM on July 27

Bread pudding with some kind of buttery tastysauce was the first thing I thought of when I saw the headline on this, too.

(Our local brewpub does a Jack Daniel's bread pudding with melty vanilla icing and loads of butter and booze that would make you CRY with joy).
posted by bitter-girl.com at 12:36 PM on July 27