Matcha Banana Bread with Russian Buttercream

Imagine starting off your morning with a slice of banana bread, warm out of the oven with hints of earthy matcha, rich white chocolate, and smooth Russian buttercream. Bake up a loaf for those mornings you need to grab a slice and run out the door for breakfast on-the-go. Or, make this recipe for a tasty contribution to holiday brunches. Either way it should be served beside a cup of coffee any way you like it.

What is Russian Buttercream?

Our recipe for Matcha Banana Bread uses a Russian buttercream for a silky smooth, sweet topping. To make Russian buttercream you simply whip butter with sweetened condensed milk. Sometimes recipes will add in just a little vanilla or salt too. In our case, we add in a bit of matcha powder to balance out the rich sweetness. This minimalist approach sets it apart from American buttercream, which uses powdered sugar, making a denser texture. Russian buttercream offers a silkier, less sweet, and un-gritty consistency, sort of like whipped cream. While it shares the smooth qualities of meringue-based buttercreams such as Swiss or Italian types, it achieves this without eggs for a quicker to preparation.

Matcha Banana Bread with Russian Buttercream

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• Author: Keith Recker
• Yield: Serves 8–10 1x

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Description

Decadent banana bread intertwined with white chocolate and topped with a Russian buttercream frosting.

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Ingredients

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For the bread:

• 2 cups flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 tsp matcha powder
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 4 ripe bananas
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup white chocolate chips

 For the frosting:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp matcha powder
• 14 oz condensed milk

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Instructions

For the bread:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a non-stick 8×4 loaf pan.
2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda and matcha.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer let the paddle attachment mash your bananas for a minute or two.
4. Add eggs, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
5. Add flour mixture a cup at a time, until well combined. Scrape after adding each cup.
6. Fold in white chocolate chips.
7. Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake for just shy of an hour.
8. Test the loaf with a baking skewer. When it emerges cleanly from the loaf, remove from oven and let cool.
9. When completely cool, remove from pan and frost with Russian buttercream.

For the frosting:

1. Whip the butter for 8 minutes, scraping down the bowl of the stand mixer from time to time.
2. Add matcha, vanilla extract, and a small pinch of salt. Whip until combined.
3. Add condensed milk and whip for five minutes, scraping down the bowl from time to time.

Recipe and Styling by Keith Recker
Photography by Dave Bryce

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