Jamaican Ripe Banana Fritters

Most people think that Jamaican banana fritters are more like pancakes, but the real Jamaican banana fritters are not. They are thin, light and airy, literally melting in your mouth. Once the batter meets the hot skillet, the fritters puff up so beautifully. It is eaten with just some sugar sprinkled on top, how much more does it take to be in heaven?

Photography by Heaven on Hearth

You will need:

1 ripe banana

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 egg at room temperature

½ teaspoon Madagascar vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

4 tablespoons vegetable oil for frying

white sugar to serve

Egg, Vanilla and Nutmeg

 This will take no time at all. Mash 1 ripe banana, one that has lots of brown spots on the skin, with 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Brown sugar gives the batter a lovely deep flavor. In another bowl, whisk 1 egg, ½ teaspoon Madagascar vanilla extract, and ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg.

Egg Mixture, Mashed Banana Mixture, Flour and Baking Soda

Mix with the mashed banana and sugar. Add 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and a pinch of salt to the mixture and mix well.

Fritters In the Skillet, Getting Golden Brown

Heat a skillet over medium low heat, before adding 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Pour 1 tablespoon of mixture for each fritter. Don’t crowd the skillet with too many fritters at a time. The skillet should always have enough oil. The fritters will take about 1 minute on each side over medium low heat. The fritter will start bubbling and you will see the edges getting a nice golden color, then you can flip it over. 

The Fritters

You can use a fork and poke into the fritter to see if it is done. If it comes out clean, then it’s done. Once the fritter is done, place on a kitchen towel so that it can absorb the excess oil.

Enjoying the Fritters!

Then transfer to a plate and sprinkle with white sugar and you are ready to dig in. This batter yields 12 fritters or serves 4. Voilà. So go ahead and enjoy!

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Banana Bread

This is a light, moist bread that comes with a rich banana flavor and just the right amount of sweetness offered by the dark brown sugar. Dark brown sugar gives the bread a nice color and also that deep flavor which comes from the molasses.

Photography by Heaven on Hearth

For the banana mixture:

3 ripe bananas

¾ cup dark brown sugar

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¾ cup melted butter
2 large eggs, room temperature

For the dry mixture:

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups flour

For the baking dish:

1 to 1½ tablespoons flour

Pam for baking to grease the baking dish

Pre-heat your oven to 350° Fahrenheit.

Blend 2 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt together in a large bowl. Set aside until the banana mixture is ready.

Flour, Baking Powder and Salt

Bananas, Dark Brown Sugar and Nutmeg

I like bananas that are have a beautiful yellow color with some brown dots on the skin that tells me that they are nice and sweet and fully ripe. When peeling, please ensure that all the long thin strings that are sometimes attached to the banana are removed, as they have a bitter taste.  Once the 3 bananas are peeled, the strings removed, break into pieces placing them in a large bowl along with ¾ cup brown sugar and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg. Crush the bananas with the sugar and nutmeg with a fork until you have a nice smooth mixture with a few banana clumps. Then add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and blend in with the banana, sugar and nutmeg mixture. In a small bowl, whisk the 2 large eggs, then pour into the banana, sugar nutmeg and vanilla mixture and blend well.

Banana Mixture with Eggs and Melted Butter

Melt butter in a pan or just zap quickly in the microwave. If you are using 4 ounce sticks, you will need 1½ sticks. I cut them into pieces, placed them in a bowl and zapped in the microwave for 30 seconds. The butter wasn’t bubbling, but nicely melted with a few small pieces, which I mixed in with a fork. 

All Ingredients Combined

After all the butter pieces were melted, pour into the banana, sugar, nutmeg, vanilla and egg mixture making sure that all the ingredients are well incorporated. Then pour the mixture into the dried ingredients and blend well.

Banana Bread going into the Oven

Spray some Pam in the bread loaf pan, then sprinkle 1 ½ tablespoons of flour in the pan and shake around the pan until all sides are covered with flour. This will ensure that once the banana bread is baked it won’t stick to the pan. I used a glass loaf dish and not metal.

Once the baking pan has been prepared, pour in the mixture and place in the oven.  Bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes. I know it may sound long, but the bread will be just right with a beautiful brown color once baked.  To make sure that it is properly baked, test it by sticking the loaf with a long, thin bamboo stick or toothpick. If it comes out dry, then you know the banana bread is done. If you don’t have either, a knife will do the trick.

Slice of Banana Bread

Once done, remove from the oven and place the baking pan on a rack and let it rest and cool down before removing the bread from the pan. After the bread has been removed from the pan, let it cool a bit longer further before cutting a slice for yourself. Voilà. How easy was that? 






Don’t be surprised if the crust has a sweet little crunch to it. That’s just how it should be. I know…it does catch you by surprise, but what a delightful surprise. 

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