Asian Influence

Recipe: Drunken Crown Royal Banana Bread 

By Jessie Lehail,
Special to The Post

Banana bread is a quick bread that takes almost no time to convert from bananas whisked with a few basic ingredients, and popped into a hot oven.
Sometimes it’s good to push the envelope. I pondered on how to make my original banana bread even better. I thought the addition of alcohol, namely Crown Royal would add a bit of feistiness. Alcohol adds its own flavour to baked goods and enhances individual components. The science behind this is that alcohol, even a small amount, boosts the volatility of the reactive molecules of other ingredients, making them release stronger aromas and flavours.
The inside of this banana bread has a subtle Crown Royal flavour and is dotted with bits of ginger and crisp walnuts. The top has caramelized sliced bananas, walnuts, and jaggery. It’s slightly crunchy, which is a nice surprise and contrast to the interior. It’s the most beautiful and delicious taste of comfort.

• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• ¼ cup milk
• ¼ cup dark brown sugar 
• 2 eggs
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil 
• 2 tablespoons Crown Royal
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom 
• 1/8 teaspoon ground clove 
• 2¼ cup flour
• 2 tablespoons crystallized ginger, chopped finely 
• 1/3 cup walnuts

Topping
• 2 ripe bananas, sliced lengthwise 
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/3 cup jaggery 
• 1/3 cup walnuts  
     
Preheat oven to 375 Degrees. Grease a loaf pan with oil or butter. Mash bananas with fork. In a mixing bowl mix mashed bananas, sugar, eggs, oil, Crown Royal, milk, and vanilla. Add baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, and clove. Mix well. Add flour, crystallized ginger, and walnut. Mix only until incorporated. Do not over mix to keep some banana chunk in the batter. Pour batter into loaf pan. For topping, in a fry pan, melt butter. Add jaggery, allow to melt. Add Crown Royal and cook for a minute or two and then add bananas and walnuts. Cook until they caramelize, about 3 minutes. Pour the warm mixture over the batter in the loaf pan. Push the bananas down into the batter slightly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Jessie Lehail is the author of Indian Influence, a food blog that takes global eats and reinterprets them with a South Asian influence. Visit her blog at www.indianinfluence.ca.