Banana Bread with Maple Mascarpone Cream and Hazelnuts

Banana Bread with Maple Mascarpone Cream and Hazelnuts brings nostalgic comfort to a classic - just like the warm loaves my mom baked every Friday night, ready to greet me on Saturday mornings, only now elevated with creamy maple mascarpone and a crunchy hazelnut topping.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Italian

Servings banana loaf

Author Pina Bresciani

Ingredients

For the banana bread:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter
¾ cup white sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 ½ cups mashed overripe bananas

For the maple mascarpone and topping:

275 g mascarpone
4 tablespoons pure maple syrup plus more for drizzle
chopped hazelnuts

Instructions

Heat oven to 350° F. Lightly grease (with butter) and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Turn pan over the sink and tap out extra flour.
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a stand mixer, cream the butter together with the white sugar. Stir in eggs then mashed bananas until well incorporated.
Sift flour mixture into banana mixture; and continue to mix in stand mixer until just combined. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
Bake in oven for 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.
In a stand mixer or hand-held mixer, mix the mascarpone and maple syrup together until well combined, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. By whipping the two ingredients together in a stand mixer, it will make the mascarpone less dense, lighten it up a bit and give it the consistency of cream.
To serve, cut the bread into slices and spread with 2 tablespoons maple mascarpone, drizzle with extra maple syrup and top with chopped hazelnuts.

Notes

My bananas were frozen so when thawed, they had more moisture than a regular ripe/unfrozen banana, so this is why I used less bananas than the original recipe called for.