Recipe: Braaied Banana Bread with Honey Labneh & Pecan Praline

The Braai Breakfast You Make Two Days Early and Braai in Five Minutes

Banana bread is one of those things everybody has made. Overripe bananas, a loaf tin, an hour in the oven, first slice warm with butter; you know the story.

Here's what most people miss: day two is when banana bread gets really good!

Nothing beats a day-old slice, spread with butter, laid on a cool braai grid and left until it's golden and slightly charred on the outside while warm and soft in the middle. And it's something your oven can't do nearly as well. The fire adds a smokiness that makes this feel genuinely special rather than just good.

This is our favourite braaied banana bread recipe from Glow Kitchens (Gabriela Charlotte). This September, we're taking it even further: honey labneh added generously on each warm slice, pecan praline cracked over the top, and about five minutes of effort in the morning for breakfast. The loaf and the labneh you've already made two days before. The fire does the rest.

The best breakfast you can make is the one you mostly prepared in advance. This is that.

Gabriela Charlotte pictured above

Recipe Information:

Ingredients

Banana Bread (1 loaf)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (swap 1:1 for gluten-free if needed)

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom (optional but great addition)

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 1/3 cup plain yoghurt or sour cream, room temperature

• 2 cups mashed ripe bananas (the blacker the skin, the better the flavour)

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• Zest of 1 orange

• 3/4 cup pecans, walnuts, or choc chips (optional)

• Butter, for toasting on the braai

Honey Labneh (gives 250–300ml)

• 2 cups full-fat plain yoghurt (Greek or regular, but not low fat)

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 2 tbsp honey or syrup

• 1 tsp vanilla paste

Pecan Praline

• 100g pecan nuts, roughly chopped

• 100g sugar (white or light brown)

• Pinch of salt

Image by Iyke Ibeh - Pexels

Method

Part 1 - Make the Banana Bread (Day Before Serving)

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Adjust the rack to the lower position. This stops the top from browning too fast. Line a loaf tin with baking paper and grease it.

2. Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom in a bowl. Set aside.

3. Cream butter and brown sugar on high speed until smooth and pale, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each. Beat in the yoghurt, mashed bananas, orange zest, and vanilla until combined.

4. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet. Stop as soon as no flour pockets remain. Don't over-mix. Fold in nuts or choc chips if using.

5. Pour the batter into the lined tin. Bake for 40-60 minutes. Cover loosely with foil halfway through to prevent over-browning. The loaf is done when a skewer in the centre comes out clean. Ovens vary, so start checking at 40 minutes.

6. Cool in the tin on a wire rack for 1 hour, then turn out and cool completely. Store in an airtight container. After all, you're not done till it hits the fire!

Part 2 - Make the Honey Labneh (Start 2 days before serving)

1. Mix yoghurt and salt in a bowl.

2. Line a sieve with cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel. Place over a deep jug or bowl (You need space for the liquid to drip). Alternatively, tie the cloth onto a wooden spoon laid over a tall cup.

3. Pour in the yoghurt and fold the cloth over the top. Refrigerate.

4. Strain time: 12–24 hours gives soft, creamy labneh. 24–48 hours gives thick, spreadable cheese. Tip out the liquid after a few hours as it collects.

5. Once thickened, scrape the labneh off the cloth into a bowl. Add olive oil, honey, and vanilla. Mix well. Adjust sweetness to taste. Refrigerate until needed.

No time for labneh? Get some thick Greek yoghurt, whipped cream, or even coconut yoghurt. All work well!

Part 3 - Make the Pecan Praline 

Time for some fire fun!

1. Line a baking tray with baking paper and grease it well.

2. Toast the pecans in a dry pan over medium heat coals until golden and fragrant. Be sure to watch them constantly as they go from toasted to burnt in seconds. Set aside.

3. In a clean saucepan, add your sugar and 2 tbsp of water. Don't stir. Place over medium heat and swirl the pot gently every now and then to distribute the heat. Let it melt and turn deep golden amber. Too pale = too soft. Too dark = too bitter.

4. Working quickly? Add the toasted pecans and a pinch of salt to the caramel. Stir once to coat.

5. Pour immediately onto the greased tray and spread as thin as possible. It sets fast. Leave to cool completely.

6. Once set, break into shards. 

The Braai (What really makes this Banana Bread Recipe Stand out!)

1. Get your fire or coals to a cool-to-medium heat.

2. Slice the banana bread fairly thickly (about 2cm). Spread both sides generously with butter.

3. Lay the slices on the braai grid or in a cast-iron pan on the coals. For multiple slices, a braai grid (like you'd use for braai broodtjies) works perfectly. Toast 2-3 minutes per side until golden and warm through.

4. Serve immediately. Add a generous dollop of honey labneh on each warm slice, make a small well in the labneh, and fill with pecan praline shards.

Equipment for the Braai

You'll need a decent pair of tongs to handle it all. Something that won't break your bread (Enter the Donkey Tong 69cm) and something to keep those low coals perfect (The Donkey Long Tong 80cm shines here). Or get the Donkey Combo to handle both!

Tips for Getting It Right

• Use the ripest bananas you have. The skin should be covered in black spots or fully black. The blacker, the sweeter the bread.

• Don't rush the cool-down. Cutting a warm loaf gives crumbly, messy slices.

• Praline is unforgiving. Once the caramel hits amber, you have about 20 seconds before it burns. Have your toasted pecans in the pan before you start the caramel.

• For all braai steps, you need a cool fire. Medium to low heat, medium coals, or coals that have been going for a while. If you can hold your hand over the grid for 3-4 seconds comfortably, it's right.

Why Braai Banana Bread?

Because fresh banana bread is great, but day-old banana bread on a braai is something else entirely.

Fresh-baked, it's soft and a little fragile. Try to toast it then and it'll either crumble or steam instead of char. Give it a day in an airtight container and everything firms up. The crumb tightens. The crust sets. And when you lay a buttered slice on a cool braai grid (or a cast iron pan on the coals), the heat has something to work with.

The result: a caramelised, slightly smoky crust with a warm interior that opens up the banana and spice flavours in a way the oven never could.

Frequently Asked Questions

Make the Effort Before You Spoil Your Family For Breakfast. 

This is how the best family breakfasts work: most of the effort happens out of sight, in advance, while nobody's watching. The banana bread gets made the night before. The labneh hangs quietly in the fridge. The praline sits in a jar on the counter.

On the morning, all you do is light the fire and slice some bread. Five minutes of braaiing, but hours of watching the flames. Then you carry it out like you've been cooking for hours.