Caramel-Whiskey Banana Bread

I was going to make pate a choux last night, but on my way to the pantry to grab flour, I was stopped in my tracks by the scent of fermented fruit. Again? I just finished those frickin’ strawberries! Have they come back to haunt me?

Further investigation led to the discovery of two very ripe bananas on top of the fridge. Crap. I had bought a huge bunch of them last week to eat for breakfast, ate a couple, skipped breakfast a few days in a row, and then completely forgot about the stragglers. And now they were reasserting their presence in a big way.

I didn’t want the sad bananas to go to waste, so I scrapped my plans for pate a choux and whipped up a batch of banana bread. To keep things interesting, I substituted in 1/2 a cup of caramel sauce for brown sugar, and then added a healthy pour of whiskey. I tell you, that batter smelled good!

Truthfully, this banana bread could have been improved with just one extra mashed banana, but was very tasty on the whole. Incredibly moist, with a light sweetness made richer by caramel, and rounded out by a pleasing whiff of whiskey. I asked Dan this morning if he wanted to take some to work to share with his co-workers, but he said he’d rather eat it all himself.

Caramel-Whiskey Banana Bread (Adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s Jacked Up Banana Bread recipe)

Ingredients:
– 2 ripe bananas, mashed
– 1/2 a stick butter/margarine, melted
– 1/2 cup caramel sauce
– 1/4 cup brown sugar (optional — I like my banana bread to be on the sweet side)
– 1-1/2 cups flour
– 1 egg
– 2 tbsp whiskey
– 1 tsp vanilla
– 1 tsp baking soda
– 1 tbsp cinnamon
– 1 dash of nutmeg
– 1 dash of cloves

Steps:
(1) Preheat oven to 350.
(2) Mix melted butter into the mashed bananas.
(3) Gradually incorporate the caramel, whiskey, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, and spices. Mix well.
(4) Add flour and stir until well combined.
(5) Pour batter into a greased bread pan.
(6) Bake for 45 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes before serving.

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