My favorite recipe for Banana Bread

Oh my. This bread is good. Really good. It beat out 3 other recipes for the top spot.
I was beginning to wonder if I was going to find a recipe that met my expectations. Although this recipe called for the addition of poppy seeds and dates, I politely overlooked those and stuck to tradition. Sometimes you want to reinvent the wheel and I'm all for that, but this time, I wanted a recipe that I could feel confident about making my 'go-to' banana bread recipe. Not merely a decorative touch, is the application of sliced banana on top and the dusting of powdered sugar after cooling. Beautiful.

The author of this recipe is Zoe Nathan, pastry chef at Huckleberry and Rustic Canyon in Santa Monica. The LA Times publishes readers' requests for recipes for their favorite dishes at local restaurants. Thanks to Ms. Helen Chiu of Westchester we can all partake of this delicious bread.

Banana poppy seed loaf
Total time: 1 1/2 hours
Servings: 2 loaves (about 8 servings each)
This recipe requires 2 small (8 1/2 - by-4 1/2 -by 2 1/2 -inch) metal or glass loaf pans.

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, plus extra for greasing the pans
1 1/2 cups (6.4 ounces) flour
1 1/2 cups (6.75 ounces) whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
3/4 cup sugar plus 1 teaspoon, divided
3/8 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
5 very ripe bananas, plus 1 1/2 fresh bananas, divided
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup yogurt
3/4 cup coarsely chopped dates
1 to 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease and line the bottoms of 2 (8 1/2 - by 4 1/2 - by 2 1/2 -inch) loaf pans with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and poppy seeds. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, three-fourths cup sugar and salt until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated.

4. In a medium bowl, mash the very ripe bananas. With the mixer running, add the mashed bananas and vanilla to the butter mixture until incorporated. With the mixer on the lowest speed, add the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Gently fold in the yogurt and dates. Divide the batter evenly between the 2 pans.

5. Slice the remaining 1 1/2 bananas crosswise into one-eighth inch slices. Top the batter in each pan with the banana slices, arranged in rows. Sprinkle the remaining teaspoon of sugar evenly over the sliced bananas, then place in the center of the oven (leave a few inches between the loaf pans).

6. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 1 hour, rotating halfway through for even baking. Check the pans after 20 to 30 minutes and periodically after that to see that they do not darken too quickly; if they do, lightly cover the tops with aluminum foil and continue to bake.

7. Cool the pans and unmold the loaves. Sift the powdered sugar evenly over the 2 loaves. Cut the loaves into 1-inch slices and serve.

*As I mentioned, I removed the poppy seeds and dates from this recipe, however, I added 3/4 cup of chopped walnuts.