Cream Cheese-Filled Banana Bread

Craving for something more innovative than the classic banana bread? We suggest cream cheese, not on it, but in it! Complementing the sweet, soft exterior of the bread, the tangy cream cheese will burst with flavour in your mouth, almost like you're having a side of cheesecake.

Yield: Serves 10
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 100 mins
Difficulty Level: 3/5

Ingredients

• 1 cup (150 g) plain flour
• ¾ cup (110g) self-raising flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 cup (220 g) firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup (60 ml) milk
• 75 g butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup (240 g) mashed overripe bananas
• 250 g cream cheese, chopped, at room temperature
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon rind
• 3 tsps lemon juice

Steps

01. Preheat oven to 160 C (140 C fan-forced). Grease a 10 cm x 19.5 cm (base measurement), 13 cm x 23 cm (top measurement) loaf pan. Line base and long sides with baking paper, extending the paper 5 cm over the sides.

02. Sift flours, cinnamon and soda into a large bowl. Combine ¾ cup (165 g) of the sugar, the eggs, milk, butter, vanilla and banana in a medium bowl. Add banana mixture to dry ingredients; stir until just combined – don’t over-mix. Spoon half the mixture into pan.

03. Beat cream cheese, rind, juice and remaining sugar in a medium bowl until combined. Spoon cheese mixture over banana bread mixture in pan, leaving a 1 cm border. Top with remaining banana bread mixture.

04. Bake for 1 hour 25 mins or until bread comes away from pan slightly and a skewer inserted into the side comes out clean. Cover with foil during cooking if overbrowning. Cool in pan.

Banana bread is best eaten on the day it is made. Store leftovers in the fridge, bring to room temperature before serving.Transfer loaf to a cutting board; cut into slices. Return slices in position to loaf pan. Transport banana bread in the pan, completely wrapped in plastic wrap. Photo: bauersyndication.com.au / Additional reporting: Cherrie Lim