Funfetti Banana Bread

So remember bananapalooza?  Yeah that kind of happened in my kitchen again.  One or two at a time, bananas just kept getting tossed in the freezer.  I'm pretty sure at one point there were about 20 in there.  What better way to enjoy those nasty looking but awesome tasting (when baked) overripe bananas?  A week's worth of banana recipes, that's how!  I'm going to treat you to five days of sweet treats using this versatile fruit.  Three quick breads, one healthy muffin and a delicious cookie, all for your enjoyment.

Starting with this Funfetti Banana Bread--yup, banana bread has a party with a touch of cake batter flavor and sprinkles everywhere.  This quick bread tastes like banana cake and the sprinkles remind you to celebrate...something.  Bananapalooza?  Breakfast?  Whatever, you'll smile when you eat this.

When Dave saw these loaves he couldn't believe that the funfetti was so vibrant.  And then he looked at me quizzically and said, "But that didn't come from a funfetti box, did it?  So how did you get the funfetti everywhere?"  I opened the cabinet and pointed to the sprinkles.  "Oooh, sprinkles," he said.  "I didn't know sprinkles were funfetti."  I looked at him and said, "I've made funfetti cookies, funfetti blondies, rice krispies treats and other things, and I've never used a box of funfetti mix.  How do you think I got them?"  "I don't know; you sure fooled me."

I really like this idea I saw on Pinterest, but when I opened the recipe, I realized using 12 bananas to make 3 large loaves of bread was little much for something I wasn't sure (at the time) that I'd like.  Plus the recipe used two boxes of prepackaged mixes, which I don't mind, but I just didn't have on hand.  So I poked around and tried to figure out how to make my version from scratch and used my Chocolate Banana Bread recipe as a base.  Turns out I had a good plan.  The banana flavor popped in the cake batter background--if you want more a cake flavor, try increasing the cake mix to 3/4 cup and decreasing the flour to 3/4 cup.  Rather than one large loaf, I opted to make three mini loaves instead, which I thought were cute and perfect for spreading the celebration around.  To make a full loaf, place batter in a loaf pan and bake or 55-65 minutes instead.  However you do it, enjoy the cake, banana, and sprinkles of this fun bread.

Funfetti Banana Bread

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1/2 cup yellow cake mix
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sprinkles
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup ripe banana, mashed (about 2 bananas)

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cake mix, baking powder, salt, baking soda and sprinkles.  Set aside.

In a stand mixer or a large bowl with a hand held mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl as necessary.

Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla and mix to combine.  Stir in mashed banana.

Gradually add flour mixture to banana mixture, stirring to combine after each addition.

Divide batter into three greased mini loaf pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until tops are slightly golden and a tester inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes.  Then run a knife along the edge and remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 3 mini loaves.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

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