Whole Wheat Caramel Banana Bread

Breads are one of my quickfix breakfast option. I always have a loaf of bread in my pantry and a jar of cheese spread in my fridge. They usually satisfy my mid-day hunger pangs too. I have always wanted to try my hands on yeasted breads but the tedious kneading process involved pulled me back. And comes in... quick breads. They are easy to put together, you can add in whatever flavors you need and you can make it as healthy as you want it to be just like this bread.

I had some caramel syrup in my fridge and hence I tipped that in but you can skip it and add brown sugar to get that caramel-y taste. The nutty taste of the whole wheat was beautifully complimented by the caramel flavor. The sweetness was good for us as we had it for morning breakfast and hence preferred it less sweet but increase the sweetness to your palate. If you are serving this as a cake for kids do increase the sugar content.

Halved and adapted from here Whole wheat flour - 3/4 cup All purpose flour - 1/4 cup Baking soda - 1/2 tsp Baking powder - 1 tsp Ground cinnamon - 1/4 tsp Buttermilk - 1/4 cup Mashed banana - 1/2 cup Egg - 1 Caramel syrup - 1/4 cup Sugar - 2 tbsps Vegetable oil - 1/4 cup Salt - a pinch

How I Made it:
To prepare the caramel syrup, add 1/4 cup sugar with 2 tbsp water in a non-stick pan. In medium heat, allow the sugar to caramelize and go deep amber. Move away from the stove and slowly drizzle in the water while whisking simultaneously. Reduce to syrup consistency.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a loaf pan and set aside. Beat together the oil and sugar. Add  the caramel and mix well.

Add the egg, and beat well to make sure it is fully incorporated into the mixture. Stir in the mashed banana. Add the cinnamon powder and mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Whisk the buttermilk.

Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet mixture alternating with the buttermilk and fold. Start and end with the dry ingredients.  Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan. Bake for about 35-40 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Serve hot from oven!!!

I served it for our morning breakfast with a spread of butter and a side of hot Nutella... A yummy morning breakfast...

**My Notes:
** You can replace the caramel and sugar with brown sugar.
** Replace the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour and make it more healthy
** You can also throw in a handful of toasted walnuts or raisins.
** Adding oil gives it a beautiful moistness but if needed can be replaced by butter.
** I am totally in love with cinnamon flavor these days and hence use it in anything that I can. You can replace it with vanilla extract.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

Signs off!!!