This banana bread recipe is inspired by the Malay muffin-like dessert harum manis. “Harum” is Malay for “fragrance” while “manis” means “sweet”. The traditional recipe uses gula melaka, pandan leaves and cake flour and like most Asian cakes, harum manis is steamed – not baked.
However, this modern version tastes amazing both ways. Baking gives this fluffy bread a more caramelized flavour, while steaming it makes it more moist!
GO BANANAS!
I love bananas but they have such a short lifespan that I probably only get to eat one before the rest of them go bad. So I usually freeze my ripe bananas to make them last. If stored correctly, frozen bananas can last 3 months or more, which is great for making smoothies!
Click here to try my Pumpkin Pie Smoothie.
Now that I’ve perfected this banana bread recipe, I have yet another sweet solution for those extra bananas on the brink of losing its freshness.
ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS
GULA MELAKA
When making harum manis, the first step is making a syrup with gula melaka and pandan leaves. Gula melaka is basically palm sugar in its rawest form. It’s made from the sap of coconut palm and comes in hard blocks that you can either shave off into smaller bits or dissolve in water before you can use it. It’s unrefined and is not as sweet as regular brown sugar. The flavour can be described as smoky with hints of toffee.
If you can find neither gula melaka nor granulated palm sugar, you can substitute it with brown sugar, but it may lack the earthy nuance of this natural sugar.
PALM SUGAR
Granulated palm sugar (also called coconut sugar) is the granulated version of gula melaka. It’s easier to use (it tastes great in coffee!) and to measure out than the solid version. The only downside, if there is any at all, is that is more expensive. Dr Gram Organic Coconut Palm Sugar (the one I use) is S$8.90 for 500g, while Sing Long Gula Melaka is S$3.35 for 400g.
PANDAN LEAVES
These sweet-smelling leaves are often referred to as the vanilla of Asia. They are as cheap as chips and have so many great uses!
Here are a few ideas:
- Leave a few leaves in your kitchen cabinets to repels insects, and as a natural air-freshener.
- When boiling rice, tie one pandan leaf into a knot to add a sweet, subtle flavour.
- For a refreshing thirst quencher, boil a few leaves in a pot of water. The water will turn slightly green. Allow to cool then strain to remove the leaves, before pouring into a tall glass with ice.
When included in this banana bread recipe, the pandan leaves add a slight touch of floral aromatics. However, don’t worry if you can’t find this ingredient as this banana bread tastes great even without it.
BANANAS
Some purists will insist on only using pisang mas (Lady Finger Banana) in making harum manis. This smaller variety is said to be sweeter than regular Cavendish bananas, which in my opinion, work just fine.
If the skin on your bananas has tinges of green, wait a another day or so until it’s yellow or starts to spot. Bananas taste sweeter when they are very ripe. Just be sure to cut off any black bits on the banana, if it has over ripened.
VANILLA EXTRACT
You can get fancy and replace this ingredient with a vanilla pod, but definitely choose vanilla extract over vanilla essence. Vanilla extract is made from actual vanilla pods, while vanilla essence is synthetic and made with vanilla flavouring. For full vanilla awesomeness – without the exorbitant price tag of vanilla pod – get vanilla extract.
(How hilarious that the brand new induction cooker decided to conk out on my first cooking video! Haha!)
IS BANANA BREAD A BREAD OR A CAKE?
Apparently, the difference between a bread and a cake has to do with the leavening agents used. Cakes tend to be leavened by both baking powder and baking soda, while breads are leavened by yeast. So by this definition, I guess you could say that banana bread is a cake.
However, there are recipes for banana cake too and it’s very different from how you would make banana bread. The main difference is the type of flour used. Banana bread can be made with heavier flours or just regular all-purpose flour, but for banana cake, the lighter cake flour is needed. So in that regard, this banana bread recipe is considered a “bread”!
If you would like to try to make harum manis, here is a recipe from Prima Flour. For my Ridiculously Delicious Banana Bread, try the recipe below!
Enjoy!
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Ridiculously Delicious Banana Bread
- Total Time: 1 1/2 hour
- Yield: 3 loaves 1x
Description
There is no other way to put this… but this banana bread is ridiculously delicious. I mean, RIDICULOUS! It’s moist, fluffy and light. You can have it at breakfast with a cup of coffee or as a sweet treat whenever you feel like it. The palm sugar adds a warm brown tone and a lovely caramel flavour that isn’t achingly sweet. You’ll need a standing mixer to beat the eggs and sugar until it’s super fluffy.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup granulated palm sugar (see Notes for substitute)
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 3 pandan leaves (optional)
- 50g butter, plus more for greasing
- 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 4 bananas, mashed
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 bananas, sliced thinly for the topping
- 1/2 cup walnut pieces, plus a handful more for the topping
Instructions
In a saucepan, boil one and a half cups of water with pandan leaves and palm sugar/gula melaka. Stir to make sure all the sugar is dissolved. Add butter. Turn the fire off. Set aside and allow to cool.
In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add salt to the sifted flour.
Mash four bananas in a small bowl with a fork. Stir in vanilla extract and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, using a mixer, whisk eggs and white sugar until fluffy and light yellow. Next, fold in half the flour mixture. Stir to combine. Fold in the rest of the flour and stir again. Add in the mashed bananas.
Pour in the palm sugar and butter mixture a third at a time. Mix it all up until you get a smooth batter.
Thinly slice two bananas. Grease your moulds, baking tin or loaf pan with some butter. Pour in the batter halfway. Top with banana slices & bits of walnut.
You can choose to steam or bake this banana bread. Place in a steamer for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before cutting in or the consistency will be more like pudding. Or bake in the oven at 180ºC (360ºF) for 45 minutes. This produces a more caramelized flavour than the steamed version, but both are fluffy, moist and light.
Notes
Substitute 1 1/2 cup granulated palm sugar with 200g gula melaka or 1 cup brown sugar
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Asian/American
