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Gula Melaka/Palm Sugar Banana Bread

written by Marvellina Updated: September 20, 2023
4.7K
PIN RECIPE COMMENTS VIEW RECIPE
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I highly recommend this incredibly moist yet fluffy banana bread/cake. It is loaded with lots of bananas and the incredible aroma of gula Melaka. Try it and you will know what I mean. So good!

Okay, I know there are so many banana bread or cake recipe out there! Like seriously do I need another one? If you ask me, well, yes! 🙂 At least try this version. My family was very impressed with this very easy-to-put-together banana bread/cake (I really can’t decide if it’s bread or a cake! LOL!). It’s like a dessert for us, yet not a heavy one!

Gula Melaka/Palm Sugar Banana Bread

Why you will love this recipe

1. Easy
You don’t need any special kitchen equipment and the recipe is quite forgiving
2. Loaded with banana flavor
The aroma as this loaf bakes in the oven is insanely good! the banana flavor and that gula Melaka/palm sugar marry well I must say!
3. The crunchy sugar topping on top is delicious
The moist and fluffy cake has a bit of crunchy sugar topping on top and is just so..so good!

Gula Melaka/Palm Sugar Banana Bread

How to make gula Melaka banana bread

1. Preheat oven to 325 F (170 C) for a conventional oven. If you use a convection oven, lower the temperature by 20 F or 15 C. Place the oven rack at the lower 3rd of the oven. Lightly grease your 9 x 5 loaf pan and line it with parchment paper on all sides
2. Whisk all the dry ingredients and set aside. Mash bananas, gula Melaka, oil, buttermilk, eggs, rum, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl using a fork.

3. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet and fold to combine. As long as you don’t see any pockets of flour, you are done mixing. Don’t overmix the batter

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Tap a few times on the countertop to release any bubbles. Decorate with 2 thin slices of bananas and some walnuts on top. Dampen your fingertips with some water and then pinch the sugar to form some clumps and sprinkle this on top of the banana and walnuts

5. Put the pan inside the oven and bake for 60-70 minutes. It took me about 70 minutes. When you insert a skewer into the cake, it should come out clean with a few crumbs as long as it’s not wet. Let it cool down in the pan for 20 minutes and then lift it out by grabbing the parchment paper and transfer to a wire rack to cool down completely

Did you make this gula Melaka banana bread recipe?

I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag it to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!

Gula Melaka/Palm Sugar Banana Bread

This recipe is adapted from Shauna Sever’s The Only Banana Bread You’ll Ever Need in her Midwest Made cookbook. We truly enjoyed it !! So good!

Gula Melaka/Palm Sugar Banana Bread

Gula Melaka/Palm Sugar Banana Bread

Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins
Servings 10 servings (9 x 5 loaf pan)
5 from 6 reviews
REVIEW & RATE PRINT

Ingredients

  • 400 gr mashed very ripen bananas
  • 200 gr gula Melaka see notes 1
  • 112 gr cooking oil neutral-tasting recommended
  • 75 gr buttermilk (room temperature) see notes 2
  • 100 gr eggs weight of 2 large eggs without the shell
  • 1 Tbsp dark rum optional but highly recommended
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Dry ingredients:

  • 272 gr all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt

Optional toppings:

  • Thin slices of bananas
  • Walnut halves

Crunchy sugar topping (highly recommended):

  • 30 gr granulated sugar

Instructions
 

Prepare the batter:

  • Preheat oven to 325 F (170 C) for conventional oven. If you use convection oven, lower the temperature by 20 F or 15 C. Place the oven rack at the lower 3rd of the oven. Lightly grease your 9 x 5 loaf pan and line it with parchment paper on all sides
  • Whisk all the dry ingredients and set aside. Combine bananas, gula Melaka, oil, buttermilk, eggs, rum, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl using a whisk. Sift in the dry ingredients into the wet and fold to combine. As long as you don't see any pockets of flour, you are done mixing. Don't overmix the batter
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Tap a few times on the counter top to release any bubbles
  • Decorate with 2 thin slices of bananas and some walnuts on top. Dampen your fingertips with some water and then pinch the sugar to form some clumps and sprinkle this on top of the banana and walnuts

Baking:

  • Put the pan inside the oven and bake for 60-70 minutes. It took me about 70 minutes. When you insert a skewer into the cake, it should come out clean with few crumbs as long as it's not wet

Cooling:

  • Let it cool down in the pan for 20 minutes and then lift it out by grabbing on the parchment paper and transfer to a wire rack to cool down completely

Serve:

  • Do not cut into the bread/cake while it's still warm. It's very tempting I know! But it has to cool down completely. If you can wait to serve the next day, that's even better. The flavor has a chance to develop and the cake will be ultra soft and fluffy yet moist at the same time

Storage:

  • It can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for about 5 days (it didn't last that long at our house!)

RECOMMEDED TOOLS

digital kitchen scale
digital kitchen scale
Mixing Bowl

Marv’s Recipe Notes

  1. If you don’t have gula Melaka or coconut sugar, feel free to use dark brown sugar or light brown sugar. The aroma won’t be exactly the same, but you’ll still have a really nice banana bread
  2. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make your own by adding 1/3 teaspoon of vinegar/lemon juice to 75 gr (1/3 cup) of regular milk and let it sit for 10 minutes. You will see some curds, may not be a lot, but it’s ready to be used

*Nutrition facts are just estimates and calculated using online tools*

Nutrition Facts
Gula Melaka/Palm Sugar Banana Bread
Serving Size
 
1 large piece
Amount per Serving
Calories
334
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
13
g
20
%
Saturated Fat
 
1
g
6
%
Trans Fat
 
1
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
 
3
g
Monounsaturated Fat
 
8
g
Cholesterol
 
38
mg
13
%
Sodium
 
334
mg
15
%
Potassium
 
197
mg
6
%
Carbohydrates
 
51
g
17
%
Fiber
 
2
g
8
%
Sugar
 
21
g
23
%
Protein
 
5
g
10
%
Vitamin A
 
92
IU
2
%
Vitamin C
 
3
mg
4
%
Calcium
 
44
mg
4
%
Iron
 
2
mg
11
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Did you make this recipe?Let me know how you like this recipe and consider rating it! Tag me @whattocooktoday I’d love to see your photos/videos on Instagram
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8 comments

Rhina May 28, 2023 - 6:49 am

i used organic banana. cant find coconut sugar here so i used brown sugar 100gr. without rum and no toppings. it worked in my oven 55minutes. the result was excellent.

Reply
Marvellina May 29, 2023 - 9:06 pm

I’m glad the recipe still turned out well for you with the modifications. It’s quite a forgiving recipe actually!

Reply
Beverly May 27, 2023 - 8:41 pm

Hello, Marvellina! Another lovely recipe. I made it in an 8-inch springform pan and it worked beautifully. I live in Japan and used dark brown sugar from Okinawa.

Reply
Marvellina May 27, 2023 - 10:15 pm

I’m so glad it worked out for you 🙂

Reply
Josephine Ng January 21, 2023 - 6:19 pm

Can I replace buttermilk with sth else?

Reply
Marvellina January 22, 2023 - 8:45 pm

Hi Josephine, under note 2 in the recipe card I did provide a replacement if you don’t have buttermilk. I hope that answers your question

Reply
Kin October 22, 2022 - 12:10 pm

Can I use dark/light brown sugar instead of Gula Melaka? Thank you

Reply
Marvellina October 22, 2022 - 8:44 pm

Hi Kin, absolutely!

Reply
5 from 6 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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