Cream Cheese Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 1.5 cup plain flour (for the batter)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 0.25 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 0.5 cup unsalted butter
• 0.75 cup sugar (for the batter)
• 2 eggs (for the batter)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 0.333 cup greek yogurt
• 3 bananas (mashed)
• 250 g cream cheese
• 0.333 cup sugar (for the cream cheese mixture)
• 1 egg (for the cream cheese mixture)
• 2 tbsp plain flour (for the cream cheese mixture)

Steps

1. 1

   Preheat your oven to 140ºC (285ºF).

2. 2

   In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups plain flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1 tsp cinnamon until well combined.

3. 3

   In a separate large bowl, cream together 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy.

4. 4

   Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time, followed by 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/3 cup Greek yogurt.

5. 5

   Fold in the 3 mashed bananas into the wet mixture.

6. 6

   Gradually add the dry flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined. Do not overmix.

7. 7

   In a separate bowl, prepare the cream cheese mixture by combining 250g cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 egg, and 2 tbsp plain flour. Mix until smooth.

8. 8

   Grease a loaf pan. Pour half of the banana bread batter into the pan.

9. 9

   Spread the cream cheese mixture over the batter, then top with the remaining banana bread batter.

10. 10

    Bake in the preheated oven at 140ºC for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Notes

The baking temperature is quite low (140ºC), which ensures the cream cheese layer stays creamy and the bread doesn't dry out during the long bake time.

Nutrition per serving

• dessert
• snack
• banana bread
• baked
• cream cheese
• breakfast