chai spice banana bread
I’ve found myself smitten with chai tea this winter, unable to resist the warm, aromatic flavors that translate well into pastry (chai spice palmiers) and chocolate (chai rum truffles). The spices work beautifully with banana bread too, imparting a lovely spicy aroma.
Buttermilk and coconut oil lend the banana bread a moist and tender crumb; honey and ripe bananas add just enough sweetness (though I highly recommend the brown butter drizzle!). Serve thick slices with steaming mugs of chai tea for the best breakfast or afternoon treat.
Chai Spice Banana Bread
- Yield: 1 loaf, 12 slices
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger
- 3/4 tsp cardamom
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
- 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)
Glaze
- 1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. Whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Combine banana, honey, coconut oil, buttermilk, egg, and vanilla bean paste in a medium bowl; add to flour mixture and fold in just until combined. Spoon batter into prepared pan and smooth top with an offset spatula.
- Bake for 30 minutes; rotate pan and cover with foil to prevent over browning. Continue baking another 30 minutes. Bread is done when golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes; carefully remove bread from pan and cool completely.
- For the glaze, cook butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until it foams, turns clear, and then turns a deep brown, about 6 minutes. Whisk together brown butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk in a small bowl. Drizzle glaze over cooled bread and let set before slicing and serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.
Nutrition
- Calories: 220
- Carbohydrates: 36
37 comments
Lovely loaf, Laura! I am sure the aromatic chai spices make it even warmer and more comforting! My cup of coffee needs it. 🙂
I can’t even imagine how good this must taste. Genius!
My morning cup of cookie needs a friend, and this loaf of bread is it. Pinned.
Laura, this is outstanding… love it… May I bake my own version with link back to you?
Thank you Lizzy! Of course! 🙂
oh this is going to be my favorite banana bread, I can just tell. 🙂
I feel like I’m always transported somewhere peaceful and beautiful when reading your posts, descriptions and looking at your delicious baked treats, Laura! love love love this chai spice banana bread!!
A beautiful bread and I imagine the flavours are great together!
Bananas & Chai spices – Yes!! This bread looks ravishing. 🙂
This bread looks wonderful, Laura! I loved your writing in this post, too… that description of chai tea in the first paragraph makes me wish I had a warm mug right now 🙂
I LOVE chai… this bread looks so delicious!
Mmm! Love the flavors of chai and banana together!
So smart to pair bananas with chai! Wish I had some waiting on me for breakfast tomorrow 🙂
That looks all sorts of crazy good Laura! Whenever we go out for brunch, I always order chai! 😀
I am so unbelievably intrigued by the addition of chai! Chai lattes are my weakness so I am pretty sure I am going to fall in love with this bread.
Banana are such a lovely canvas for sweets. They are happy to share the limelight with so many other flavors. The warming spices of chai make a enticing addition to this wonderful Banana Bread.
This banana bread sounds WONDERFUL!!! I love chai so much, and never thought of combining chai and banana bread! You’re genius, Laura! Definitely plan to try this recipe!
Oh gosh, somehow I missed your last two posts, and they are both winners! I love the color of this bread, and of course the spices…we are banana bread sisters this week, wish we could exchange slices!
The perfect, satisfying winter loaf! Banana bread never goes out of style and I just love your chai spice twist whilst using honey and coconut oil. So dreamy, Laura! Will definitely be making this one. 🙂 Thank you for sharing, my friend. Pinning (when I get back over to Pinterest), too!
Mmmmm this bread with a cup of tea…. bliss!
Laura, this makes so much SENSE. I just love how you infused chai into your banana bread. Such a gorgeous loaf!
Banana just works with everything, doesn’t it? I want to take a bite out of the screen right now!
Those chai spices are pretty irresistible, so cozy and warming!
Such a gorgeous loaf of banana bread! Loving both the chai twist and the drizzle—irresistible!!!
Happy New Year Laura! Love that you added Chai to a standard banana bread – I can only imagine how divine it is. Pinning this to make soon!
Perfect pair to my morning coffee! Delicious 🙂
I am a banana bread fanatic so this chai spiced version is a must make for me.. looks so incredibly delicious.
I love chai and I bet this bread infused with chai flavor must be amazing!! Looking forward to trying this out!
Oh mah word! I wanna nibble off the glaze first and then inhale the entire loaf!!
Did I tell you that your flavours are always spot-on? Chai and Bananas? Bananas! Amazing! I so need this now because it is -32 C (-25 F) outside! Brrrr….
I am allergic to coconut. What else can be used instead of the coconut oil?
Hi Donna, you can substitute vegetable oil or any other neutral flavored oil.
I fell in love with this recipe when I first saw it and waited until I had ripe bananas to make it. Well I finally made it and it was awesome! My only change would be to add slightly less cardamom, but it was a big hit in my house. Thanks!
I just made this lil’ jewel and tastes wonderful. Instant quick-bread favs.
Thanks Lily, so glad you liked the bread! 🙂
Was looking for something different to do with ripe bananas. This spiced loaf is perfect, especially for this time of year. You are right, the glaze makes it even better!
Many thanks.
So happy to hear that, thank you Wendy! 🙂