Hi friends! It's been a while, hasn't it?
I promise that I'm going to make it worth the wait, though. For one, because there's a pretty amazing banana bread recipe coming your way today. And two, as you've probably noticed, the site got a little makeover earlier this week with a sleek new design.
But the most important reason of all is that I've got a whole lot more changes coming to this here corner of the interwebs over the next little while.
You see, I've been spending the last couple months thinking some stuff through. After doing this blogging thing for over a decade, I was feeling pretty burned out, and it was clear I was going to have to make some changes if I was going to keep blogging.
Problem was, I didn't really know what I wanted this blog to be, so I spent a lot of time combing through old posts trying to figure out which ones sparked joy. (Yes, I may have been watching some Tidying Up on Netflix around that time.)
And what became clear to me is that the recipes I enjoyed making the most were the ones where I started with a classic recipe and gave it a modern spin.
So, what's next? It's a new direction that I'm summing up as "Vintage Recipes for a Modern Kitchen".
Think all of your old-school favourites, only with a modern spin - swapping out processed ingredients for scratch-made, adapting to newer techniques like the Instant Pot, or making them over with totally untraditional flavours.
They say it's best to start off as you mean to go on, I'm kicking off this new direction by sharing my latest makeover of my favourite banana bread recipe, which gets added depth and sweetness from a combination of espresso and butterscotch chips.
Needless to say, this one's oh-so-perfect for serving up for breakfast with your biggest, strongest cup of coffee.
It's exactly the kind of thing you can expect going forward... everything you love about the classic, plus a little something-something extra.
Welcome back, friends, to the brand-new Crumb.
Hope you'll stick around for the ride! I promise, there's lots more deliciousness in store for you.
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Coffee-Toffee Banana Bread
Description
Coffee addicts rejoice! Get your caffeine fix with this classic banana bread spiked with deep, dark espresso and butterscotch chips.
Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 tbsp milk
- 2 tsp instant coffee powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ cup butterscotch chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F, and generously grease a 9X5-inch loaf pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the mashed bananas with the egg until combined. Stir in the brown sugar, granulated sugar, sour cream, coconut oil, milk, instant coffee and vanilla extract, and mix well until everything is well combined.
- Dump in the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir until just barely incorporated, then fold in the butterscotch chips, stirring until the last of the floury streaks are gone. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully unmold and transfer to a wire rack to cool off completely before serving.
Sabrina says
I love your your new focus, it sounds awesome! And what a delicious recipe to kick off the fresh new look. I love the additions of coffee and caramel :-)
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[email protected] says
I am delighted for you, Isabelle - I completely understand your new direction and just know that you will enjoy this new path you are focussing on. Vintage recipes are such a joy to work with and modernize. I cannot wait to see what you will do next - what fun! Your Coffee Toffee Banana bread looks wonderful (and I love the snappy title, too!). What a great start for your new venture. I am pinning to try it soon. All the best to you.
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Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
That's super exciting! It's always nice to take a break and come back super refreshed. Sometimes we all need that. Can't wait to see what you have in store. Based on this coffee toffee banana bread, I'm sure it'll be a whole lotta deliciousness ;)
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Stefanie says
I made this bread this morning. Raves! A new favorite. I love classics with a good twist so look forward to your new direction.
Thanks for the recipe. The crust looked dark but was so tasty. It has a nice caramel flavor from the brown sugar. We ate it while it was still hot - couldn't wait - but feel sure it will only improve as the day goes on. It won't last long.
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Isabelle Boucher says
Stephanie, you just made my day! :) The crust does come out a little darker than a regular banana bread because of the coffee in the batter, but I feel like that just adds another layer of caramel flavour. Hope you enjoy the leftovers as much as you did the first round!
Mardi (eat. live. travel. write.) says
“Vintage Recipes for a Modern Kitchen”.
I could not love this more! Can't wait to see what you come up with! Go you!
★★★★★
Isabelle Boucher says
Thanks, Mardi! I'm super-excited. (I know, total dork, right?) :)