Banana Maple Bread

I don't normally make banana bread in individual flute pans, but today I had only three bananas and with the 95 degree heat, there was no way I was going out to get two more as the recipe called for (although, for some reason cranking my oven up to 350 degrees was ok).  So, I fiddled with the recipe a bit to account for less banana and decided to use smaller pans rather than a loaf pan which would have been too large. I think the resulting mini breads are cute and they kind of remind me of what used to come out of my Easy Bake Oven. 


Banana Maple Bread
(adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book, a gift from my friend Randi)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 beaten eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed banana
1/2 tsp. maple extract
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil
1 tsp. finely shredded lemon zest
1/4 chopped walnuts (optional)
Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of a 9x5x3 loaf pan (or pans of your choice); set aside.  Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Make a well in the center of the mixture; set aside.
Combine eggs, bananas, sugar, oil and lemon zest.  Add egg mixture all at once to dry mixture. Stir until just moistened (batter should be lumpy).  Fold in nuts, if desired. 
Spoon batter into prepared pan(s).  Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 65 minutes (my mini flute pans baked for only about 20 minutes).  Cool on rack for 10 minutes.  Remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.  Wrap and store overnight before slicing. 
Store overnight? Yeah, right.