did you just put 'sour cream' in THAT banana bread?

i've been craving a lot of carbs lately and noticed this week that the bananas on the counter were becoming really ripe:  you know it's ready for pitching in the rubbish bin or baking when the skins get really, errr, black.  it's the best when bananas are this way, not necessarily for eating alone, but for baking or cooking.  i knew i would be baking something with bananas but thought i'd get interesting this time by putting a twist on the typical banana bread.  this post is featuring my latest version of a baker's staple creation (borrowing a lot of pointers on the recipe from Allrecipes.com): banana bread that includes sour cream, lots of chopped nuts and mixed dried berries, and best of all, it's gluten-free!  don't worry:  sour cream is perfect because it gives the bread this muffin kind of moistness.  and yes, i like my breads 'chunky' and 'interesting' so i added tons of nuts and dried fruit so it almost looks like fruit cake minus the candies and over-done sweetness.  if you don't like either nuts or dried berries, you can easily omit both from the recipe without any problem!

banana sour cream gluten-free bread

(PREP:  15 min /BAKE: 1 hr 15 min / COOL: 30 min or longer / SERVINGS: 1 loaf)

• 1 tbsp. white sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon or ginger (NOTE: ginger will give it a bite)
• 4 tbsp. margarine or butter, softened
• 1/3 c. white or brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 4 oz. sour cream
• 2-3 ripe bananas, mashed (use the ones that are super soft and have black skins)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/3 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1-1/3 c. rice flour
• 1/2 c. coarsely chopped
• 1/2 c. mixed dried berries, chopped (Southern Grove mix of craisins, cherries, blueberries & strawberries is available for cheap in Aldi's)

1. preheat oven to 300 deg. F while you lightly grease loaf/bread pan.  mix 1 tbsp. of sugar and 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon together and sprinkle all over the inside of greased pan.  set aside.
2. in large bowl, briskly mix margarine, egg, and sour cream with whisk (or mixer) until creamy. mix in mashed bananas, vanilla extract, and ground cinnamon.  leave the mix relatively chunky from the mashed bananas.
3. mix salt, baking soda, and rice flour into the banana mixture until thoroughly combined.  fold in chopped nuts and dried berries.  pour into loaf pan and bake in rack approx. 8 inches from bottom of oven.  the bread is ready when top is completely golden in color and a toothpick comes out relatively dry when poked through the center of the bread.  NOTE:  i say relatively dry because with the addition of sour cream, the toothpick will have some miniature pieces on it.  don't worry!  take it out after 65 min. of baking and cool...it'll be fine and thoroughly cooked.  if you leave the pan in longer than that, i fear your bread will come out quite dry.
4. remove from pan after 5 minutes and cool the bread on a rack, dish cloth or plate for additional 25 minutes.  serve when you feel like it or freeze loaf for future use.