Dominique Ansel's Strawberry-Banana Bread with Vanilla Chantilly Cream

“I love incorporating berries into a classic banana bread to give it an extra burst of flavor,” says the pastry chef and author of the new Everyone Can Bake cookbook.

14 Tbsp. (7 oz.) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing pan
2 cups (about 8 1/2 oz.) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting pan
1 tsp. table salt
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
3 large eggs
2 cups mashed overripe bananas (from 4 to 5 bananas)
1/2 cup dried strawberries, coarsely chopped
2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
1/2 Tahitian vanilla bean pod, split lengthwise, seeds scraped

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Butter bottom, sides and edges of a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Add a little flour, and shake until pan is evenly dusted; tap out excess flour.
2. Stir together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and 2 cups of the sugar in a large bowl.
3. Whisk together eggs in a separate large bowl. Stir in mashed bananas until combined. Pour egg mixture over flour mixture; whisk until combined. Fold in dried strawberries. Stir in melted butter.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan, filling to 3/4 inch from the top. Bake in oven until cake is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Loosely cover with aluminum foil, and bake until loaf is cooked through, another 35 to 45 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, beat cold cream, vanilla bean seeds and remaining 1/4 cup sugar with a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium speed until cream holds soft peaks, 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Once the cake is done baking, let it cool in pan for 15 minutes. While cake is still warm, invert onto a serving plate. Serve warm with whipped cream.

Quick tip! Ansel recommends using only dried fruit in a banana bread recipe: “Fresh fruits will release moisture during baking and will cause the cake to get soggy.”

Serves: 8
Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 40 minutes