Caramel Macchiato Banana Bread Is An Amazing Twist On A Classic Recipe

Did you know that the most popularly sought bread recipe in the United States is banana bread? Banana bread has been an American favorite since the Great Depression, when homemakers were seeking ways to make the most of every food scrap in their kitchen, including bananas that had turned brown.

Since then, banana bread has become a comfort-food staple. We’ve seen many variations on banana bread over the years (cheesecake banana bread, sour cream banana bread and even royal banana bread from a recipe by Megan Markle herself), but here’s one that will surely become a new favorite: caramel macchiato banana bread.

This delicious and ingenious recipe from Averie Cooks combines everything you love about banana bread with everything you love about that coffeehouse specialty, the caramel macchiato. Caramel macchiatos are made with steamed milk, rich espresso, vanilla syrup and of course, caramel.

With caramel macchiato banana bread, you will delve into these sweet, caffeinated depths by making a quickbread with bananas, sour cream, vanilla, caramel syrup and espresso powder (such as this option from Hoosier Hill Farm).

When choosing the caramel for your recipe, don’t use caramel sundae topping, which can be too thin and watery for the recipe. Instead, buy an authentic, thick caramel sauce that will hold up well in the baking process, such as this sea salt caramel sauce from Stonewall Kitchen.

After making the bread and allowing it to cool, you cover it with a rich glaze made with brown sugar, vanilla and butter.

Rather than using espresso granules, you can try something that might already be in your pantry — instant coffee, which is just part one of how Wishes and Dishes achieves the coffee flavor in her recipe. Ashley also replaces the caramel syrup with caramel macchiato-flavored liquid coffee creamer (like this one from International Delight), which is a clever way to infuse every bite with the coffee and caramel.

And if you’d rather leave the coffee out of the bread and zero in on the caramel, this recipe from Yellow Bliss Road might be the one for you. Kristin’s method calls for simply swirling in the caramel with a knife before you pop it into the oven. If you like, finish it with a drizzle of caramel.

No ripe bananas for your recipe? Don’t worry: Here are some ideas that can help you make bananas ripen faster, such as ripening them in the oven.