Plantain Bread (Plantain Cake)
Moist, tender, and perfectly sweet plantain bread (or cake) makes a beautiful breakfast or snack. One bite and you’ll never complain about those overripe plantains again.
When your plantains have passed the tostones mark and are getting a little too black for even fried sweet plantains, plantain bread is the answer! This bread is cake-like in texture with subtle plantain notes that are highly delicious.
Plantain bread is super easy to make, too. It only takes a few minutes to make the batter and less than an hour in the oven for perfectly baked plantain bread. It’s one of those simple recipes the kids love to help with that comes out delish every time.
Banana Bread vs. Plantain Bread
If you love banana bread, I promise you’ll love plantain bread. Plantain bread is similar to banana bread with a few minor differences. The bread itself is a little denser.
Flavor-wise, plantain bread is still sweet, but the actual plantain flavor is less intense than that of bananas. And while riper plantains have a stronger flavor, it’s never overpowering.
How to Make Plantain Bread
- Peel the plantains, slice them, and then puree them in a food processor or blender until thoroughly mashed. Set aside. (Photos 1-3)
- Add the eggs, sour cream, sugar, softened butter, vanilla, and milk. Mix well. (Photo 4)
- Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg. (Photo 5)
- Add the plantain mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well. (Photos 6-7)
- Pour the cake batter into the greased loaf pan (or cake pan), place two plantain slices on top, and sprinkle with brown sugar. (Photo 8)
- Bake at 325℉ (160℃) until a tester inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean, 45–50 minutes. Transfer it to a wire rack, and allow it to cool.
- Melt the butter and brown sugar until bubbling and lightly browned. Pour in the optional rum and vanilla extract, and simmer until slightly thickened and it bubbles. Pour it over the freshly baked bread, and enjoy. (Photos 9-10)
Recipe Variations and Tips
- Feel free to use orange zest, omit the nutmeg, add cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom, or customize the spices any way you see fit.
- Bake this cake in a muffin tin instead for personal portions of plantain bread. They won’t take quite as long to bake, so keep an eye on them.
- Add chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc.), dried fruit, or chocolate chips if you please.
- This bread tastes best with the sweetest, ripest plantains you’ve got. Black plantains aren’t usually bad, just really sweet and soft.
- Tapping the pan on your work surface a few times will eliminate large air bubbles for even rising and baking.
Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
Plantain and banana bread are even better baked ahead of time. Wrap it in plastic after it’s completely cooled, then store it in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days, in the fridge for 3-5 days, or in the freezer for 4-6 months.
You can reheat single slices in your toaster oven for that fresh-out-of-the-oven taste. Or zap it in the microwave for a few seconds.
What Goes With Plantain Bread
Indulge in plantain bread with a cozy cup of ginger tea or a specialty coffee like a pumpkin spice latte. You can always dress up your plantain bread and turn it into a more cake-like experience by topping it with some cream cheese frosting or a dollop of homemade whipped cream. Go ahead and add some of that to your coffee, too.
More Delightful Plantain Recipes to Try
- Fried Sweet Plantains
- Stuffed Baked Plantains
- Plantain Frittata
- Klako (Plantain Fritters)
- Crunchy Plantain Chips
By Imma
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”KaB5erKH” upload-date=”Tue Aug 07 2018 11:38:08 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)” name=”Plantain Cake” description=”Plantain Cake – easy, light and delicious plantain cake or bread that serves as a great breakfast or afternoon snack. You could eat the whole thing without realizing you have gone overboard!”]
This blog post was originally published in April 2015 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.
Plantain Bread (Plantain Cake)
Ingredients
The Bread
- 2 large overripe plantains
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup (80g) plain yogurt or sour cream
- ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (175g) granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, partially melted
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60ml) milk
- 2 cups (240g) sifted cake flour
- 1 teaspoon (6g) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (5g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
- 1 tablespoon (6g) grated lime zest (optional)
- 1 teaspoon (2-3g) grated nutmeg
The Glaze
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter
- ½ cup (100g) light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (60ml) dark rum (optional)
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Grease a loaf or cake pan generously with cooking spray and set aside.
- Peel the plantains, slice them, and then puree them in a food processor or blender until creamy with no lumps.
- Add the eggs, yogurt, sugar, butter, vanilla extract, and milk, and mix well.
- Combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, optional lime zest, and nutmeg.
- Add the dry ingredients to the batter and stir well, scraping the sides of the mixing bowl as you go.
- Pour the cake batter into the greased loaf pan (or cake pan). Add a couple of plantain slices and sprinkle with brown sugar if desired.
- Bake at 325℉ (160℃) until a tester inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. Transfer it to a wire rack and allow it to cool.
- Melt the butter and brown sugar until bubbling and lightly browned. Pour in rum and vanilla extract, and simmer until slightly thickened and it bubbles. Pour it over the freshly baked bread, and enjoy.
Tips & Notes:
- My original recipe omits the vanilla extract, as you see in the video, and mixing is a little more complicated. The dump and mix method works just as well.
- Use the sweetest, ripest plantains you’ve got for sweeter bread.
- A potato masher, a fork, an immersion blender, and a regular blender will all mash your plantains just fine. Just make sure they’re creamy with no chunks.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
i followed all the steps. Mine is looking a little doughy. It tastes delicious but the toothpick comes out a little doughy even after 1hr 20mts. The bread is not white like your picture. What do u think? Should i leave it alone.
Sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you. If it’s not cooked after hour then the culprit is probably in the ingredients and/or measurements. Can’t say for sure without watching you do it .
Yeah!!!!! Thanks a lot for this, am done throwing my plantains away, I tried it without the sour cream and it came out nice and tasty…..
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback shona!
Imma, please is there an alternative to an oven??
None that I know off.
A compact bread maker is now available in the market.
Good to know ! Thanks for sharing !!!
Hi Chinwe, you can bake in an old aluminium pot with a tight lid/cover, add some empty tin tomato cans, gravel or gas/stove top to form a base for your baking pan.
I used this when I started baking years ago before I got an oven
Thanks for sharing this with us.
I just made this and it turned out great! It came out really soft and moist 🙂
Awesome! Glad it worked out well for you Chidimna.
Hello, I had plantains that were too soft to use so I googled what I can make with them. Thank goodness I got this recipe. My food processor is bad so I used blender to combine the ingredients and this is the first time I will be baking anything from the scratch (I usually use cake mixes). It turned out great and the taste is yum. My kids will be overjoyed when they get back from school. Thanks Immaculate Bites
Awesome! Glad it worked out well for you!
I just finished making this…did a little tweaking because I like to do my own thing..lol it came out absolutely perfect I was really surprised at the texture, so soft and tasty.. never thought about using plantains that way…didn’t want to waste my over riped plantains..Thank you for the recipe…oh I added a bit of cinnamon, mixed essence..
Great additions Kadie! Need to try that sometime. Thanks for letting me know .
Great Recipe! Thanks for posting it….Tastes just like banana bread!
Glad you enjoyed it!
im going to try it this weekend in Arizona….
Awesome! Do let me know how it works out for you.
I made it am. I had extra batter so i made a couple mini loaves. Next time im going to make all mini loaves. Cook time was about 30 minutes in a toaster oven for mini
Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.
Is it possible to make a similar thing like this from unripe plantain flour? if yes how can one make the flour rise to form a sandwich bread
Sorry I haven’t tried it yet. So can’t over details.
Made this today that is plantain bread. Been meaning to and I finally did. Added couple ripe bananas and a half of an Apple as well. Actually used sour cream too. Very moist and delicious.
Serached for similar products as mine and found this one. Deelishus yum
Hi immaculate, i read through your recipe with delight. However, i would not crush/ blend my plantains to do a cake/bread. I cant afford to get it to that stage when its so soft bcos of scarcity. Anyway, could one use Plantain flour (ie dried up plantains that is ground to flour ) in place of the plantains then you wont need to add AP flour? I would like to try it. And vegetable oil in place of butter? By the way, plantain flour is avaliable in the markets. It is used to make foo foo in africa.
You could use plantain flour but it is not going to have the same texture as this one. Do let me know how it works out for you.
I think it’s lovely that you choose to use the real thing instead of flour in your bread loaf. Just as you would use bananas in a banana bread. Elsie you can alter any recipe to your liking but me personally would try this recipe replacing any eggs though I want to make a vegan version.
Hi MISH what did you use as an egg replacement as I’d like to try this out. I’ve heard you can use chai seeds blended but I’m not sure. Thanks
Pls Imma which one is cake flour incase I don’t get it can I use my normal all purpose flour?
Juliet,You can use all purpose flour.
Ar u teacher b/4 u switched over to food cos u really know how to illustrate things very well that even d block heads wil understand,ooo God bless u for us mothers
looks delicious
I can imagine toasting this up and slathering with butter for breakfast yum yum….. but then again, this baked like a biscotti will be great with nuts added (made without milk and swapping cake with AP flour). and the drying out maybe a tablespoon of canola oil might help it stay moist.
Love your suggestions, you really are making me want to make some this weekend with nuts.
So proud getting this site. I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Aww, thanks Coker. Let me know which ones you try!
oh!!! dear immaculate, love your step to step illustrations, even dumbest person will understand you. God bless you real good.
Thanks Loveth. Glad you appreciate the step-by-step pictorials!
This is definitely a cake, not bread. LOL. But it looks delicious. I can’t wait to try it.
Hi Doo!Please let me know how it works for you
We call banana bread “bread” even though it’s a cake. The word isn’t literal in this context.
I think it’s called a bread because it’s baked in a loaf pan like bread
Am going try out this recipe cos I see it has yoghurt. I used the same recipe for both my carrot and banana cake, just add carrot or banana depending on the one I want. Am still looking for recipes that don’t dry out. Tanks once again
Fresh from the oven this is moist. Only when left outside, sour cream helps out!
I wish we had fresh plantains here in Sydney. I’ve never seen them. But we are a bit behind with everything, eventually they will come here! I’ve only tried the fried chips using frozen ones 🙂 I can just imagine the flavour of this though!