Dutch Breakfast: A Cozy Spiced Banana Bread Recipe

Dutch Breakfast: A Cozy Spiced Banana Bread Recipe
Ontbijtkoek, or "breakfast cake" as it is translated from Dutch, is a popular breakfast snack in the Netherlands. While we wouldn’t necessarily recommend it as something you should have for breakfast every day, this spiced cake makes for a lovely seasonal treat! Today we’ll be taking a twist on the traditional version and making a spiced banana bread.

The key to this recipe is using rye flour, which gives the bread its light brown coloring. Spices such as cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg are lovely and will warm you up on a cool fall morning. Traditionally served with butter on top and claimed to be best eaten the day after baking, this breakfast cake is a perfect fall treat -- to share or keep all to yourself! When I bake this spiced banana bread I’ve found that it freezes quite well, so if you’ve got people coming over and need a nice treat in a hurry, simply pull it out and warm it up.
Pair with your favorite spiced chai for a really cozy experience. I recommend the Stargazer caramel chai tea. The caramel complements the spiced banana bread perfectly, and if you’re having it in the morning, the caffeine and spices in this tea will wake you up.
I recommend using bananas that are overripe, when the skin is browned, for the best flavor. As bananas age they become sweeter and infuse their flavor better throughout baked goods. Save this recipe for when you need to use up some bananas that are looking a little unloved!


Dutch Spiced Banana Bread



Ingredients:
  • 3 overripe bananas
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 4 tablespoons melted butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup rye flour
  • 1 and 3/4 cups self raising flour
  • 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (350 for convection ovens). Grease a cake or bread tin with butter. Alternatively, line with baking paper.
In a bowl, mash bananas using a fork. Add eggs, milk, and butter and mix together well using a wooden spoon.
Add to mixture all dry ingredients: self-raising flour, rye flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Mix together well and ensure there are no pockets of flour remaining.
Pour into tin and and tap tin lightly on counter to remove any air bubbles. Place in hot oven and cook at 375 F for 50 minutes (350F for 40-45 minutes for convection).
When time is up, insert a skewer into the center of your bread to test if it is cooked all the way through. If skewer comes out clean, remove from oven. If any mixture comes out when skewer is removed, cook for a further ten minutes and retest. Bread should be a lovely golden brown color on the outside.
Set bread aside to cool completely before removing it from the tin. Once cooled, flip tin over onto a serving plate and bread should slide out nicely.
Serve with butter or a dusting of icing sugar. This spiced banana bread makes a fantastic breakfast, snack, or dessert with tea. Enjoy!

 

Steph Huddleston

Steph Huddleston is a freelance writer and book blogger from Australia. Her passion is for the written word, and of course, tea. If you’re looking for your next great book to read with that cup of tea you can check out her website or follow her on Instagram @stephhuddlestonwriting.
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