Crumble-topped brown butter banana bread

Name: Crumble-topped brown butter banana bread
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: 180 g unsalted butter, cubed, plus extra for greasing; 100 g dark brown muscovado sugar; 50 g light brown muscovado sugar; 2 medium free range eggs; 1 tsp vanilla bean paste; 350 g flesh from 3-4 extra-ripe bananas (or see tip); 200 g plain flour; 2 tsp baking powder; ½ tsp fine salt

It took two weeks and five tries for Charmaine Katz to perfect this. The crunchy top and moist under layer is so pleasing. The brown butter adds indulgence, but with three or four bananas, you can pretend it’s OK to have it for breakfast. The lies we tell ourselves to enjoy cake all day... @char.maincourse

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Vegetarian

Serves10
CourseDessert
Prepare30 mins
Cook50 mins
Total time1 hr 20 mins
Pluscooling

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180g unsalted butter, cubed, plus extra for greasing
100g dark brown muscovado sugar
50g light brown muscovado sugar
2 medium free range eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
350g flesh from 3-4 extra-ripe bananas (or see tip)
200g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp fine salt

For the crumble topping

30g caster sugar
30g plain flour
10g porridge oats
20g leftover browned butter from making the batter

Preheat the oven to 180ºC, gas mark 4 and grease a 900g loaf tin with butter. Line the tin using strips of parchment to fit across the width and the length, with some overhang to help lift out the cake later.
Warm the cubed butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Swirl occasionally and watch carefully as it bubbles, starts to smell cheesy, foam and the milk solids turn brown. Once the solids are medium to dark brown and the butter smells nutty, take off the heat and keep swirling the pan to cool it down. Weigh 130g browned butter into a large mixing bowl, making sure you get some solids as well as the clear layer. Keep the rest in the pan.
Once the browned butter has cooled slightly, add the sugars and whisk together with a balloon whisk or electric handheld mixer for about 1 minute until well mixed and completely cool. Add the eggs and whisk for 2 minutes more, until pale, thick and glossy.
Whisk in the vanilla, then add the bananas. Use the whisk or mixer to break up the bananas, then blitz briefly. Try to keep some chunks of banana as this helps the cake stay nice and moist. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl, then sift in. Gently fold in using a spatula or large metal spoon until just combined. Scrape the cake mix into the prepared tin, leaving it mounded rather than level.
In the same bowl, add the sugar, flour and oats for the crumble topping with a generous pinch of sea salt flakes. Scrape in the remaining browned butter with a spatula, then rub it together with your fingers to make small clumps.
Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the cake, then bake in the middle of the oven for 45-50 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out relatively clean. If the top looks or smells like it’s over-browning, cover loosely with foil for the last 5-10 minutes of baking. Cool in the tin until warm, then lift out onto a rack and cool completely. The cake keeps for 3 days in an airtight container. Wrap tightly first to keep it moist.

Cook’s tip

If you don’t have extra-ripe bananas, don’t worry. While the oven heats up, add bananas in their skins to a baking tray to roast. As soon as the skins are black and shiny, take them out, slice open the skins to cool slightly, then add to the cake.

Typical values per serving when made using specific products in recipe