Queque de Platano or Banana Bread from Peru

During Covid and lockdown times, everybody seemed to have baked banana bread. I never published a recipe because I didn’t feel like following a trend. There are sooo many recipes out there, healthier ones, vegan, classic recipes, and some that sound like a decadent cake and have names such as “death by chocolate banana bread”. I finally caved and this has to do with the fact that this banana bread is prepared with plantains instead of bananas. Traditionally Peru and also Chile like to use plantains to make the bread, so I dared to declare this a Peruvian recipe. But I know that there are heated and emotional discussions as to which recipe belongs to which Latin American country. I will just keep out of it and call this queque de platano Peruvian. Please don’t kill me.

Plantains can be described as the bigger sister of bananas. They do look pretty similar, but are bigger in size. Plantains are popular in the Latin American kitchen. While still green, they are often used the same way as potatoes. You may smash some slices and fry them, you may boil them, or mash them. Once they have turned yellow, they will be used it sweets, desserts, and cakes. But don’t think that you have to throw plantains that are completely black. This is when they are the sweetest. As a general rule of thumb you can remember that they get sweeter with time, green equals a neutral flavor, black very sweet. I currently have two further recipes with plantains on my blog, one is a corn flatbread from Colombia, it is called arepas de platano and then I have a grilled version. This recipe slices the plantain and places cheese and guava paste inside, in Spanish it is platano con queso y bocadillo. So today I am going to introduce a third recipe. This banana bread with plantains is perfect for baking beginners, it does not require many steps and can easily be followed. So let’s get started!

Print Recipe

Queque de Platano or Banana Bread

Prep Time: 20min – Cooking Time: 1hr – Total Time: 1hr 20min

This banana bread is made with plantains instead of bananas and is perfect for beginners.

Ingredients

• 2 yellow or black plantains (they should not be green anymore)
• 75 grams of butter, at room temperature
• 130 grams of brown sugar (if your plantains are black, you may reduce the sugar by 30 grams)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of milk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 230 grams of all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• Optional: 100 grams of chocolate chips (or chopped nuts or raisins)
• Optional: one more plantain for decoration

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Crumple a sheet of parchment paper, then unfold in a small loaf pan. Peel the plantains (this may be harder than regular bananas, feel free to peel like a potatoe with a knife) and mash into a smaller bowl with a fork. I usually use the mixer to do that.

2

Cream the soft butter with the sugar in a large bowl with a mixer for a few minutes. Add each egg separately and mix for about 30 seconds. Then add the mashed plantains, vanilla extract, and milk and cream until combined. Add flour, baking powder and chocolate chips or other add-ons if using. Now only mix until combined. Spread into prepared loaf pan. You may wish to peel the third plantain, cut into chunks and decorate the top of the loaf. Don't worry, just evenly divide the plantain slices, a pattern will emerge while baking. Bake for about 55-75 minutes on middle rack. An inserted toothpick should come out clean. Let cool and enjoy.