Toasted Sugar Banana Bread

Banana bread is a classic for a reason – it’s comforting, sweet, and ridiculously easy to make. But sometimes you want a loaf that goes a little bit above and beyond your classic recipe. That’s where this toasted sugar banana bread comes in. Inspired by burnt sugar cake, we caramelize the sugar with milk before it hits the bananas, giving the loaf a warm, golden flavor that is rich, deep, and slightly nutty.

Then there’s the toasted buttercream. Which honestly, is a buttercream designed to melt. Slice the banana bread when it’s all warm, add the frosting, and you’ll have a melty, perfectly sweet situation. And the reason it’s toasted? Toasted butter, of course!

Read on for tips on how to toast (not burn) your sugar, the recipe and any substitutions that may help.

What makes it a toasted sugar banana bread?

This is “toasted” banana bread because we’re taking a page from burnt sugar cake and caramelizing the sugar before it goes into the batter. The difference is that the sugar is toasted with milk so it can develop that deep, toasty flavor without seizing or turning into a hard candy when added to the bananas. It’s a quick, extra step that makes the whole loaf taste warmer, richer, and just a little more complex than classic banana bread.

Ingredients you’ll need for this banana bread

For the toasted sugar banana bread:

• 3 large (350g) very ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup (110g) granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons (30g) whole milk
• 1/2 cup (113g) salted butter
• 3/4 cup (165g) brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups (210g) all-purpose flour
• 2 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, use half if using Morton’s

For the toasted buttercream:

• 2 1/2 tablespoons (35g) salted butter
• 1 large egg white
• 1/4 cup (55g) sugar
• 2 tablespoons (20g) powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

What makes it a “toasted” buttercream?

This is considered a “toasted” buttercream because we’re using brown butter instead of regular butter. Brown butter adds a rich, deep, caramelized flavor that you can’t get with normal butter, and that’s because we are essentially “toasting” the milk solids in brown butter as we cook it. The result is a Swiss meringue buttercream with warm, nutty complexity and a subtle toffee-like depth.

Ingredient substitutions

This recipe is really customizable! Here are some substitution suggestions:

• All-purpose flour: Can be swapped for King Arthur’s 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour if needed.
• Butter: You can swap it for vegan butter – I recommend using Miyokos Creamery, especially for the toasted buttercream, as it’s the only one I’ve found that actually browns.
• Whole milk: Can be swapped for 2% milk or plant-based milks like oat, almond, or soy just make sure they’re unsweetened and unflavored.

How to toast sugar

In a small pan, add the 110 grams of sugar and 30 grams of whole milk. Put this over medium heat and stir, letting the sugars melt and begin to toast to a light golden, around 4-5 minutes.

Immediately pour this into the bananas and stir. You will have less than seconds to stir in the sugar before it siezes up, so be ready to do this immediately.

Why is this recipe in grams?

Grams is always my preference for baking, and I hope it will be yours, too. The only way to ensure complete accuracy is through measuring by weight, not volume. One cup of flour can weigh all the way from 120 grams to 160 grams, depending on how it was packed. This ends up causing some volatility and miss-matched results.

I want to ensure you get the best results with this recipe (and I want to keep this recipe fool-proof!) so I highly recommend getting a small affordable kitchen scale if you want to move forward with this particular recipe.

Storage Tips

How you store a baked good greatly impacts how it will taste over time. This banana bread will last up to a week, and here are my best tips on how to store it and reheat it:

• Allow the bread to cool then store in an airtight container in cool, dry place like a pantry or a cool part of your kitchen. This is not the best recipe to store near the stove! Temperature variance won’t affect the moisture, but it will affect your bread’s ability to keep for the full week.
• Reheating: For extra moisture, throw in a damp paper towel over your slice before reheating – it’s wild, but it works! Just microwave your slice for 15 seconds with a wet paper towel draped over it. I learned this from Emily Mariko and I’m never going back.

Watch the recipe here

The video may not fully represent the recipe. For best results, follow the instructions as written.

Looking for similar recipes?

Brown Butter Banana Bread

This banana bread is the most moist, tender and delicious banana bread out there. It uses brown butter and chunks of banana to make the magic happen, and it comes together with just a bowl and a whisk!

Check out this recipe

Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls

These cinnamon rolls use the tangzhong method to mimic super-soft and ultra moist banana bread. The best part is the banana caramel topping, which is so unique but incredibly easy to make (and even easier to eat!).

Check out this recipe

Salted Banana Cookies

I'm known for making a pretty dam* good cookie, and these brown butter banana cookies are no exception. They have irresistibly crispy edges, a subtle but still noticeable banana flavor, and the best chewy center in the game. They use one whole banana, two sticks of butter, and a whole bag of chocolate chips, so there are no forgotten ingredients in this recipe. And one other perk? No eggs in case there are any egg allergies in the house!

Check out this recipe

And that’s it for this toasted sugar banana bread!

If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.

You can also shop this video if you’re looking for the exact pieces I use – I’ve linked everything on my ShopMy! *some links may contain affiliate commissions

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3

Toasted Sugar Banana Bread

5 from 1 review

This banana bread takes a few tricks from Burnt Sugar Cake, toasting sugar on the stove and them immediately stirring it in with the bananas. What this gives you is a toastier, nuttier loaf, while still keeping it supremely moist.

print recipe pin recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Servings: 12

Cook mode:Prevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

• ▢
  1 small sauté pan
• ▢
  1 9×5-inch loaf pan
• ▢
  whisk
• ▢
  small saucepan
• ▢
  probe thermometer or candy thermometer
• ▢
  electric hand mixer

Ingredients

For the toasted sugar banana bread:

• ▢ 3 large (350g) very ripe bananas
• ▢ 1/2 cup (110g) cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 tablespoons (30g) whole milk
• ▢ 1/2 cup (113g) salted butter
• ▢ 3/4 cup (165g) cup brown sugar
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups (210g) all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, use half if using Morton’s

For the toasted buttercream:

• ▢ 2 1/2 tablespoons (35g) salted butter
• ▢ 1 large egg white
• ▢ 1/4 cup (55g) granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 tablespoons (20g) powdered sugar
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions 

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. In a large bowl, mash three bananas.
3. In a small pan, add 110 grams of sugar and 30 grams of whole milk. Put this over medium heat and stir, letting the sugars melt and begin to toast to a light golden, around 4-5 minutes.
4. Immediately pour this into the bananas and stir. You will have less than seconds to stir in the sugar before it seizes up, so be ready to do this immediately.
5. Add 113 grams of butter to the pan where the sugar was (no need to clean out the pan). Gently toast the butter until it’s browned, 3-4 minutes. Pour this into the bananas.
6. Add in 165 grams of brown sugar and mix. Crack in 2 eggs and add a tablespoon of vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth and combined.
7. Add in 210 grams of all-purpose flour, 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Mix into a batter until just combined.
8. Pour this into a parchment-lined 9 by 5-inch loaf pan.
9. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 45-50 minutes. This may seem a bit lower than most loaves, but the key to the perfect moisture is not over baking it. You can test it with a toothpick in the very center of the bread. If it’s golden and crisp on top and the toothpick comes out clean, it’s ready to be taken out of the oven.
10. While the loaf is baking, make the toasted buttercream. Add 35 grams of butter to the same pan and toast it until golden. Move the brown butter to a bowl and set it in the fridge. The goal is to get it softened, but not hard.
11. Add the egg white and 55 grams of granulated sugar to a heat-safe bowl. Using the double-boiler method, put this bowl over a pot that has a few inches of water in it. Bring this pot to a simmer and whisk the egg white constantly, until it reaches 115°F.
12. Remove the egg white from the heat and use an electric hand mixer to whip it until you have soft peaks. Add 20 grams of powdered sugar and whip again.
13. Add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and salt. Then, add the softened butter a small spoonful at a time, whipping constantly to get a fluffy, toasted buttercream. Set this in the fridge while the loaf finishes baking.
14. When the loaf is out of the oven, remove then frosting from the fridge and giving it one more mix to fluff up. This makes only a small amount, but it’s enough for each piece of bread to get around 1 tablespoon.
15. To serve, slice the bread into 12 pieces, give each piece a nice tablespoon swipe of frosting. Enjoy warm.

Serving: 1 sliceCalories: 210kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 2gFat: 8g