If You Are The Top Banana, Does It Mean Your Bread is Popular?

I've often wondered where the term Top Banana originated, and I recently learned it probably had something to do with the fact that the banana is the most popular fruit the world over. So it only makes sense that when someone says "he's the top banana", it implies that he's the most popular guy in the bunch, or the guy who's been put in charge. I also learned that this memory provoking comfort bread enjoyed it's hay day during the 1960's and 1970's, and that the first official banana bread recipe was part of a Pillsbury recipe collection called Balanced Recipes and published in 1933.

So what you may ask does this have to do with my post today?  Well when someone tells you that you were the life of the party, that your banana bread rocked and that everyone wants your recipe, I guess it's their way of saying your banana bread is very popular even though it's 76 years old and had it's hay day long ago.  At least, that's what I thought as I shared the following recipe...

Boscoe's Top Banana Walnut Bread

Ingredients:

1-½ Cups Granulated Sugar
½ Cup Unsalted Butter
2 Large Eggs - Room Temperature
4 Very Ripe Bananas, Mashed
Zest of 1 Lemon
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Teaspoon Banana Extract
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
⅓ Cup Buttermilk poured into 1 cup measuring cup
1-½ Cups Unbleached Flour
1 Cup Finely Chopped Walnuts (Optional)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350’. In large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in mashed bananas, the lemon zest, the banana extract and the vanilla extract. Mix until thoroughly incorporated and smooth.

In measuring cup containing buttermilk, stir in the baking soda and add it to the banana mixture with the flour and chopped nuts. Stir the batter until it is just combined. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x5” loaf pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Transfer bread to a rack and let it cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan and let it cool completely on rack. 

Enjoy!