Bake

Date Banana Bread With Date Jam

by:
April 25, 2021
5
6 Ratings
Date Banana Bread With Date Jam
Photo by Aubrie Pick
  • Prep time 45 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Makes 1 loaf plus 1 cup jam
Author Notes

There are many variations of banana bread out there, and I’ve tried and loved almost every single one of them. So it felt absolutely necessary to include one with the addition of some of my favorite flavors, including Medjool dates, which I fell in love with when I was living in Israel. This version isn’t overly sweet, namely because it uses plump dates instead of a ton of sugar. Their honey- caramel, jammy, candy flavor brings out the natural sweetness of the banana and coconut. Since I’ll take any opportunity I can get to add a crumb topping, this bread also gets a coconut-walnut crumble that takes the cake to the next level. I love slathering this bread with room-temp butter, creamy date jam, and honey, and finishing with a sprinkle of sea salt. I’m drooling just thinking about it.

Dates were basically born to be made into a sticky, just- the-right-amount-of-sweet jam that goes well with any- thing you’re serving in the morning.

Reprinted from Eating Out Loud (2020) by Eden Grinshpan with permission from Clarkson Potter. —Food52

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Banana Bread With Coconut-Walnut Crumb Topping
  • COCONUT-WALNUT CRUMB TOPPING:
  • 1/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature or melted
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • BANANA BREAD:
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus more for the pan
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
  • 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 3 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 6 Medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1/3 cup whole-milk yogurt or sour cream
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup lightly toasted and chopped walnuts (optional)
  • Salted butter, flaky salt, honey, and Date Jam (below), for serving
  • Date Jam
  • 20 Medjool dates, pitted
Directions
  1. Banana Bread With Coconut-Walnut Crumb Topping
  2. Make the coconut-walnut crumb topping: In a medium bowl, combine the walnuts, flour, coconut flakes, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and kosher salt. Mix until a crumble texture has formed. Set aside.
  3. Make the banana bread: Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2–inch loaf pan.
  4. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer or whisk to combine the melted butter with the brown sugar, bananas, dates, yogurt or sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Try to break up the dates and bananas as well as you can.
  5. In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, shredded coconut, baking soda, cinnamon, and kosher salt.
  6. Add half of the flour mixture to the banana mixture and mix until just combined. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture. Fold in the walnuts (if using) and pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
  7. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the batter, then gently press the batter with your fingers so some of the topping gets pushed inside the bread.
  8. Place the pan on a baking sheet (to catch any drips) and bake until a skewer or cake tester comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. If the bread starts to get too dark, tent it with foil. Let cool slightly.
  9. To serve: Slice the banana bread and top with butter, a sprinkle of salt, a drizzle of honey, and jam, if desired.
  1. Date Jam
  2. In a small pot, combine the dates with 2 cups of water. Over medium heat, simmer the dates as you break them up with a spoon. Once they start breaking down, after 3 to 5 minutes, transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until creamy. Transfer the mixture back to the pot and cook over medium heat until it thickens to a jamlike consistency, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the jam to cool before storing it in a jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.
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See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Debbi Fox-Davis
    Debbi Fox-Davis
  • Vera Pifer
    Vera Pifer
  • Linda Miner
    Linda Miner
  • catalinalacruz
    catalinalacruz

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9 Reviews

cjk
cjk April 25, 2021
I recommend this recipe! It is moist, delicious, full of flavor and the dates take it up a notch. I've used an 8 in. loaf pan twice now with no overflow, but I agree that a 9 in. pan would hold the batter better. Couple of notes: we don't like coconut so I left it out of the batter and used a different crumb topping: 1/4 c. Brown sugar + 2 T. granulated sugar + 1/4 c. melted butter + 1 tsp. cinnamon + pinch salt + 2/3 c. flour. Delicious with butter, cream cheese, or mascarpone cheese... Or PLAIN!
 
food4ME!
food4ME! April 11, 2021
USE A BIGGER LOAF PAN!!!
Seriously, come on... when the recipe calls for a sheet below for overflow during baking, and the batter is to the rim before baking, shouldn't you just call for a bigger loaf pan? this was a mess. A delicious mess, but I will use my 9" loaf pans next time.
 
Bechelli
Bechelli November 15, 2020
I used coconut sugar to replace brown sugar. I also used Miyoko’s vegan butter to replace dairy butter. I added freshly ground flax seed. Got to stay healthy eating yummy food.
 
Doylehr
Doylehr November 13, 2020
I was intrigued by the dates and salt in the ingredient list. The crumb topping was fun. I left the coconut out because I loathe it. Very nice texture, throw more dates in there if you want and I really did like the salt note. Kept it simple by topping with a little butter. I left the jam behind too, but I can imagine it would be a nice addition. Good update from standard banana bread.
 
Debbi F.
Debbi F. November 6, 2020
I’m sure the original was great, but here are the changes that I made and while it was different, it was really good. In the topping I substituted oats for flour. In the banana bread, I substituted a cup of pumpkin puree for all of the butter and I used whole wheat flour. In the date jam, I left it simmering on the stove the whole time the bread baked and I added a little lemon juice. It reduced into a nice thick jam and I didn’t have to dirty the blender.
 
Vera P.
Vera P. November 5, 2020
I have made this twice because I am addicted to it and love it so very much ! It is not at all dry and beautiful. Try it with some cream cheese for a special treat !
 
Carla
Carla October 24, 2020
Man, that is just not a good picture.
 
Linda M.
Linda M. October 14, 2020
I had to try the date jam part of this. Oh. My. Goodness! The smell when the dates were cooking - incredible. I used my immersion blender, which worked really great. I didn't put nearly as much water as called for, but I did snip each date in half (even pitted, it's worth making sure). This is a fabulous quick jam and I will absolutely make it again. Can't wait for my husband to try it - if there is any left when he gets home!
 
catalinalacruz
catalinalacruz October 9, 2020
When are you going to go metric, Food 52?