Amazing Chai Spiced Banana Bread

This is one for the Chai lovers out there! This amazing banana bread is infused with chai tea, spices and honey. It is super moist and flavourful and so easy to make! Perfect on its on its own or toasted and slathered with butter, this banana bread is comfort food at its best.

Next time you have a bunch of ripe bananas in your fruit bowl, you HAVE to make this banana bread. It has all the wonderful qualities you would expect from a banana bread and then some thanks to warming spices like cinnamon, cardamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. The addition of honey makes this banana bread taste amazing with the perfect amount of sweetness. Oh and the aroma when this banana bread bakes is out of this world!

Why you will LOVE this Chai Spiced Banana Bread

• It is easy to make: You can make this banana bread by hand – no electric mixers required!
• You can really taste the Chai: In addition to ground spices, I add freshly brewed chai tea to the batter which really rounds out the chai flavour.
• It is incredibly versatile: Don’t have all the spices in your pantry? No worries! Just omit it! Don’t have any chai tea? No problem! You can use any black tea or just leave it out.
• You can enjoy it anytime of the day: It makes a beautiful breakfast or brunch toasted with butter or a drizzle of honey. It is equally delightful completely on its own (usually how I have it) and it travels well making it the perfect snack to bring when on the go. I have also unashamedly eaten it for dessert – warmed slightly with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce!
• It keeps well and freezes beautifully: It keeps beautifully moist for 3 to 4 days at room temperature and even longer if refrigerated. Like most banana breads, it can be stored in the freezer for 2 to 3 months. Before freezing, I like to pre-slice the banana bread and place small squares of baking paper in between the slices. This makes its very easy to remove a slice (or two) without having to defrost the whole loaf.

What you will need

Equipment

• You will need a 20cm x 10cm loaf tin.

Ingredients

Star ingredients

• RIPE bananas: When baking with bananas the general rule is the spottier the banana is, the better. A ripe banana is generally sweeter and more flavourful which is amplified even more when baking. I often buy two bunches of bananas. I put one in the fruit bowl for eating and the other I set aside to ripen for baking.
• Loose leaf chai tea leaves or chai tea bag: I steep the tea leaves or tea bag in a small amount of hot water to essentially make a concentrated tea. You then add the strained chai tea to the batter. This is the first method in which we impart the all important chai flavour!
• Spices: Yes I know, this recipe calls for A LOT of spices but they really take this banana bread to the next level. If you don’t have all the spices handy, just omit what you don’t have. The intensity of the chai flavour may be effected but don’t worry, you will still end up with an amazing banana bread.

Dry ingredients

• Plain (all purpose) flour: You won’t need any speciality flours for this recipe. Plain flour does the job perfectly in this banana bread.
• Baking soda AND baking powder: This recipe uses two leavening agents to create the rise in this banana bread. In the first instance, the baking soda reacts with the buttermilk (which is acidic) by creating carbon dioxide bubbles. These bubbles are what give the batter its initial lift. The baking powder will activate once it hits moisture and then again when it is heated. Once baked, the banana bread with have risen beautifully and will be super light.
• Brown sugar: The brown sugar imparts a beautiful caramel flavour that goes perfectly with the chai. It also helps the banana bread develop a deep golden crust which contrasts perfectly with the soft interior. You can substitute dark brown sugar for an even more intense flavour. If you don’t have any brown sugar, you can absolutely substitute white granulated or caster (superfine) sugar but this will alter the final flavour slightly.
• Salt: A touch of salt balances out the sweetness of this banana bread.

Wet Ingredients

• Buttermilk: I love baking with buttermilk. Not only does it impart a nice tang to the banana bread, it also helps to produce a more tender crumb courtesy of its reaction with the baking soda (see above). You can easily make your own buttermilk at home. Simply mix 1 cup of whole milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar. The mixture with thicken upon standing (approximately 5 minutes). Alternatively, you can substitute with yogurt or sour cream.
• Eggs: You will need to 2 large eggs for this recipe, at room temperature.
• Flavourless oil: I have tried substituting butter for the oil in this recipe (as well as a combination of oil and butter) and whilst the banana bread still turned out great, the moistness of the banana bread when I used oil outweighed any extra flavour gained by using butter. Trust me, there is enough flavour going on in the banana bread – I promise you won’t miss the butter in the batter! Also, don’t forget you can always serve it with butter. I always use rice bran oil when baking with oil but you can use any flavourless or light flavoured oil.
• Honey: Chai and honey are a perfect pairing and the combination in this banana bread is no exception.
• Vanilla Extract: It’s rare that I don’t add vanilla when baking something sweet. The vanilla enhances the overall of the banana bread.

How to make this Amazing Chai Spiced Banana Bread

1. Steep the chai tea leaves or tea bag in hot water.
2. Combine the dry ingredients.
3. Combine the wet ingredients (including the mashed banana and strained tea).
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
5. Pour into the loaf tin and bake!

If you love this recipe, try these…

• Chocolate Banana Loaf
• Easy Banana Cake

Amazing Chai Spiced Banana Bread

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Victoria
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 50-60 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
• Yield: 12 1x

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Description

This recipe is one for the chai lovers out there! This amazing banana bread is infused with chai tea, spices and honey. It is super moist and flavourful and so easy to make! Perfect on its own or slathered with butter, this banana bread is comfort food at its best!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 tablespoon loose-leaf chai tea leaves or 1 chai tea bag.
• 2 1/2 cups (375g) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking (bicarbonate of) soda
• 1 cup (200g) light brown sugar (see note 1)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup rice bran oil (or any other flavourless oil)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cup mashed RIPE bananas (approximately 2–3 medium sized bananas).

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Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C conventional or 160C fan-forced. Grease a 20cm x 10cm loaf tin and line with baking (greaseproof) paper. 
2. Steep the chai tea leaves or tea bag in 2 tablespoons of water from a recently boiled kettle. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, spices and salt until combined and there are no lumps.
4. In a separate bowl or large measuring jug, whisk together the strained tea, eggs, buttermilk, oil and honey. Mix in the mashed banana.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredient and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined. Be careful not to over mix as this can toughen the cake. Just make sure all the flour is incorporated but don’t be concerned if the mixture is lumpy – this is desirable! 
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin. Bake for around 1 hour but check for doneness at the 50 minute mark. If you find the banana bread browning too much, then carefully tent a piece of foil over the loaf tin and continue baking.
7. The banana bread is done when it is golden brown and a skewer comes out clean.
8. Cool for 5 – 10 minutes in the tin on a wire rack. Carefully remove the banana bread from the tin and allow to cool completely on the wire rack.
9. Slice and enjoy!

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Notes

1. This banana bread is on the sweeter side. If you prefer it less sweet then reduce the amount of sugar to 3/4 cup. I wouldn’t adjust the amount of honey though as it really adds flavour to the banana bread.
2. Storage: Store the banana bread in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days at room temperature and up to one week in the fridge. The banana bread can also be stored in the freezer for 2 to 3 months.