Bananas Foster Bread

 I hate waiting for things.  Patience has never been a virtue that I possess and lately, I am realizing how much I lack the ability to wait, for anything, ever.

I am the process of waiting to see if good news will be coming my way.  I have about another 9 days of agony so instead of driving myself crazy, I decided to bake.

Today's delicious installment of impatience created Bananas Foster Bread.  That's right, I took the already amazing basic banana bread and punched through the ceiling of flavor (22 Jump Street reference there for my hubby).  

And yes for those of you that already know how to cook, I am sure the pictures of each little step are annoying.  However, I have friends (you know who you are) that have no idea what creaming something means, or sifting, or let's be honest, stirring.  These instructions are for you, my lovely non-domestic gods and goddesses.

Cream together 1/2 c. of butter and 1 1/4 c of sugar. Mix for 2-3 min until well-blended.

While creaming the butter and sugar, in a separate bowl, smash the nanners.  I use the whip beaters on a hand mixer.  It does a nice job of getting most of the lumps out.

Add 2 eggs to the butter/sugar mixture.  Mix until all blended.

Add the nanners and about 1/2 OR 1 tsp of rum extract.

Then add about 1/2 c of sour cream.  This was my Grandma Bette's secret ingredient to super moist banana bread.  And now you ALL know the secret!

Sift in 1 1/4 c flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt.

It should look like a lovely mound of fluffy snow.

Repeat by sifting another 1 1/4 c flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix until you no longer see any flour then STOP!  Don't over mix.

Pour batter in greased loaf pan.  Or pour into 2 smaller loaf pans.

In a mini chopper or food processor, chop about 1/2 c of pecans (again I'm not a huge proponent for measuring) and 2 Tbsp of brown sugar.

Once the two are chopped together, drizzle in about 1 1/2 Tbsp of melted butter and a healthy dash of dark rum.  We use BBD, which I abbreviate in case children are looking over your baking shoulder.  But you can read about it here--it makes a FABULOUS sangria!  We bought ours in Grand Cayman but any rum will do--really is there such a thing as BAD rum?

Once the butter and rum are mixed in, spread on top of the bread.  Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes and check for doneness.  I put a baking sheet under mine in case it started to spill over.

When the timer goes off, cover the top lightly with foil and bake another 20-30 minutes until done.  I check mine every 10 min or so to make sure the middle was cooked.  In smaller loaf pans, the baking time will be shorter.




Melt a couple of caramels with a Tbsp of heavy whipping cream in the microwave. 

Mix after 30 sec in the microwave and add more whipping cream if it is too thick.  Then drizzle to your heart's delight.

Then comes the agonizing wait until it is cool enough to cut....