Banana-Blueberry Breakfast Bread with Salted Almond Caramel Spread

Ingredients

For Banana-Blueberry Breakfast Bread:

175 g (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose unbleached flour
5 ml (1 teaspoon) baking powder
5 ml (1 teaspoon) baking soda
3 to 4 ripe bananas, mashed with a fork (about 250 ml – 1 cup)
125 ml (1/2 cup) buttermilk
115 g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
120 g (1/2 cup) sugar
1 egg
5 ml (1 teaspoon) ground cardamom
80 g (1/2 cup) Patience Fruit & Co Whole Dried Wild Blueberries
50 g (1/2 cup) slivered almonds

For Salted Almond Caramel Spread:

150 g (3/4 cup) brown sugar
60 ml (1/4 cup) cold water
125 ml (1/2 cup) unsweetened evaporated milk
50 g (1 cup) ground almonds
2.5 ml (1/2 teaspoon) fleur de sel (coarse salt)

Preparation time 20 minutes
Cooking time 60 minutes Portions 8 to 10 servings (freezes well)

This is the perfect breakfast for those mornings when you’re really pressed for time, as well as laid-back brunches on the weekend. It goes with everything and can be eaten as a snack or a not-too-sweet dessert. The fantastic thing about using over-ripe bananas is that the natural sugar in the fruit means you don’t have to add so much sugar to the dough. Not to mention that bananas are great with wild blueberries and cardamom. For a unique touch, we add a salted almond caramel spread that your family and friends will adore.

Ingredients

For Banana-Blueberry Breakfast Bread:

For Salted Almond Caramel Spread:

150 g (3/4 cup) brown sugar
60 ml (1/4 cup) cold water
125 ml (1/2 cup) unsweetened evaporated milk
50 g (1 cup) ground almonds
2.5 ml (1/2 teaspoon) fleur de sel (coarse salt)

Steps

For Banana-Blueberry Breakfast Bread:

Place rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
Line a loaf pan measuring 23 x 13 cm (9 x 5 in.) with a capacity of 1.5 L (6 cups), with parchment paper.
Mix flour, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl. Set aside.
Mix bananas and buttermilk in another bowl. Set aside.
Cream butter with sugar in a mixer bowl or another bowl, using an electric mixer. Add egg and cardamom and mix until all ingredients have been incorporated. On low speed, blend in dry ingredients, alternating with the banana mixture. Add dried blueberries and almonds. Mix.
Spread mixture in the loaf pan. Bake for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the bread comes out clean.
Let cool before removing from the pan and slicing.
For Salted Almond Caramel Spread:

Bring brown sugar and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Turn down the heat and continue cooking for 5 minutes, or until the mixture looks golden (be careful not to let it burn).
Remove from the heat and add evaporated milk (the mixture will bubble up, but this is normal). Add ground almonds and salt.
To serve:
Toast slices of banana bread and spread with salted almond caramel mixture.