Cinnamon Sugar Banana Bread

I adapted this recipe from Orangette who in turn adapted it from a Bakesale Betty recipe in Bon Appetit a few years back. Thanks everyone! You have re-introduced banana bread joy into my little kitchen.

Ingredients

For bread:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar (I actually did 1/2 white sugar, 1/2 brown sugar. Do as you will!)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2-3 medium bananas)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup water

For topping:
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp. packed dark brown sugar
Couple handfuls of shredded, sweetened coconut (optional)


Directions

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter and flour a 9- x 5-inch metal loaf pan. (Alternatively, you can spray the pan lightly with cooking spray and then line it with parchment paper, which makes for easy lifting and clean-up).

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the banana, eggs, oil, honey, and water. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and stir well. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients. Sprinkle them evenly over the batter.

Bake the bread until a tester inserted into its center comes out clean, about 1 hour, give or take a little. Cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack (or the counter) for 30 minutes. Then carefully remove the bread from the pan. Cool completely before slicing.