Fuzzy Navel Banana Bread, Apricot style

Yesterday morning, I saw Streaming Gourmet's Fuzzy Navel Tea Bread, and I knew I had to make that, and make that soon! When I got home from a long, loong, looooooong day at work I discovered that I had not properly shut the freezer the night before (aka CRAP!!!!), and among other things, my frozen bananas had thawed. So it looked like the time to make this bread was now!

And am I ever glad I did. Check out her site for the recipe, it's definitely a keeper for me! Amy takes a classic banana bread recipe and jazzes it up with peaches and oranges, and the result is one of the best banana breads I've eaten. The texture is moist and dense without being heavy, and the flavours all blend together beautifully; they all mix together with a nice fruity undertone, and no one taste overwhelms the other. I don't like super bananay- banana breads, so this was perfect for me.

Things I learned:

1) I didn't have peaches, so I used the apricots I had bought for another project (sorry TWD - no brioche tart this week). I used 4 medium sized ones, and it worked like a charm. Can't wait to try it with peaches, though; I love peaches!

2) Lately, when I make a muffin or quick bread, I blend all the wet ingredients together with my stick blender. I like the uniform, smooth texture it gives, but if you prefer larger chunks of fruit by all means use the more traditional method. In fact, when I give it a go with peaches, I will likely do a peach puree and add some finely diced peaches as well.

3) This bread is great fresh out of the oven, when chilled, and toasted and spread with butter. Mmmmm. It's very versatile.

One final note: this time of year, if you are doing ANYTHING with fruit, dump all the scraps and outside and bleach the hell out of your countertops and sink drains as soon as you're done, otherwise the fruit flies will have a field day. I HATE FRUIT FLIES! I will destroy them all, you'll see!