Mama G’s famous Highway Cafe banana bread

A Tasty Original

Introducing Mama G’s famous Highway Cafe banana bread.

Let me share with you Highway Cafe banana bread. The original recipe was my great grandmother’s. She once owned the famous Highway Cafe during the 1940s. Located in South Dakota, service men and women would visit daily to get a delicious piece of warm, buttery, banana bread. The best part about this bread is the gooey texture, which soaks up the sugary glaze. Wrapping the bread overnight is a technique I added that makes this bread an irresistible dessert.  

Mama G’s Famous Highway Cafe Banana Bread

Yield: 1 Loaf

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: About 45 minutes

1     stick butter room temperature

1     cup white sugar

1     tsp. pure vanilla

1/3   cup whole sour milk (room temperature). Add 1 tsp. vinegar to the milk to make it sour

2     eggs room temperature. Mix albumin (whites) into yolk.

4     brown, very ripe mashed bananas

1     tsp. fresh baking soda

1     tsp. sea salt

2     cups Gold Medal flour

1     tsp. of orange zest

Beat butter for 10 seconds. Next, add sugar and beat for two minutes. Mix the remaining ingredients in, following the above order.

Prepare a loaf pan with cooking spray and dust with Gold Medal flour. It should look like velvet.

Pour batter into pan (no dark pans) and cook in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes.

TIPS

• Technique is the difference between good food and outstanding food.
• Prepare this banana bread in a light-colored Bundt pan or in a light-colored spring foam pan.
• Add lemon or orange zest to bread.
• Banana bread is stubborn. Make sure to prepare the pan accordingly. I use cooking spray with a flour dust. Make sure it doesn’t clump. Baked goods remove well when they hit a certain temperature.
• Before bread goes into oven drag a butter knife across the top of the batter. This makes a pretty split.
• You can also add 1 cup of dark chocolate chips to this recipe for added deliciousness.
• Add a piece of spearmint gum to flour to prevent flour bugs. I know, right!
• Simple technique is important when making this bread.
• Remove warm bread from loaf pan. Wrap warm bread in plastic wrap and let it sit overnight.
• Wrapping bread overnight makes a steam bath. The next morning the bread will be gooey and irresistible.
• Drizzle the top and sides of the bread with a powdered sugar glaze. This will seep into the gooey bread. It’s like banana streusel.