Banana bread with figs and maple syrup

Fresh fig banana bread with a fig syrup swirl

5 from 1 vote

Banana bread with figs and maple syrup

Cook figs down with maple syrup and swirl it into the banana bread batter.

Prep Time20

Cook Time1

Total Time1 20

Servings: slices

Calories: 305kcal

Ingredients

Fig swirl

1 lb fresh figs about 8 large figs, doesn't need to be exact
½ cup maple syrup (or honey)

Banana bread - wet bowl

3 large bananas
½ cup butter, melted
½ cup plain yogurt
¼ cup milk whole preferred, but not necessary
2 large eggs
¾ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Banana bread - dry bowl

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (all-purpose can be substituted)
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Maple-fig syrup

Chop figs: Get out a small sauce pan. Chop the figs into medium or small pieces and add them to the pan.
Make syrup: Add the maple syrup to the pan. Add a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until the liquid reduces back into a syrup. This may take 20 minutes.
Puree: Use an immersion blender to puree the fig-syrup (or use a food processor, or mash by hand for a chunky puree). Set aside.

Make the banana bread

Prep work: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a loaf pan with oil. Cut a sheet of parchment paper to fit across the center and come up 2 sides. (This makes a sling for easy removal).
Wet ingredients: In your larger bowl, mix the butter, brown sugar, and mashed bananas until fully combined. Then mix in the eggs, yogurt, milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk to combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, and salt.
Add dry ingredients to wet bowl: Add the dry ingredients to the larger bowl with the wet ingredients. Stir by hand to combine. Do not over-mix (which causes a tougher bread).
ASSEMBLE: Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Pour the fig-maple syrup on top and use a knife to swirl it around and into the loaf (you want streaks of syrup).

Bake for 1 hour at 350°F

Bake the fig banana bread for 1 hour, checking for doneness at 45 minutes. The bread is done when a toothpick comes out clean, or an instant read thermometer reads 200-205°F.
Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then you can use the parchment paper sling to remove it from the pan to finish cooling on a rack. (You can eat it hot, just know it might fall apart a bit when sliced).

Notes

1 pound of figs: they are cooked down to make a syrup, and it doesn't matter if this is exact. A little more or less syrup won't impact the final texture. In general, 8 large figs will be 1 lb, or 12 small.

Number of bananas:

If you only have 2 bananas, it probably will cook 10 minutes faster
If you want to use up 4 bananas, add in another ¼ - ⅓ cup of flour and make sure it's fully cooked or it will be gummy.
If you have small bananas, use 4 small bananas to equal 3 large

Scan QR code for full recipe page with images & more helpful tips

Nutrition