This Grocery Store's Banana Nut Cake Might Have Starbucks Beat, According To Reviews
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It may be a comparatively humble item, but banana bread/cake/loaf (all of which refer to nearly indistinguishable treats) is capable of inspiring big feelings. When a Foodie feature writer ranked Starbucks bakery items, the chain's banana walnut and pecan loaf came in dead last. "Rather than being moist like the banana nut bread I have come to know, this was exceptionally dry," she bemoaned. "It needed to be so much more moist for it to be enjoyable for more than a bite or two."
Fans of the Siren have a lot of great options when it comes to pastry snacks to accompany their coffee; our writer was partial to the chocolate chip cookie. But, when it comes to banana-nut loaf, Starbucks seems to have fallen prey to one of the common mistakes when making banana bread: not taking steps to infuse the dense dessert with adequate moisture. As a result, customers anticipating a crumbly, succulent mouthful might be left with nothing but the taste of disappointment.
Lo and behold, banana redemption may be found at a nearby retailer. Upon surveying customers' reviews of the best Walmart bakery items, we discovered that the store's Marketside Banana Nut Cake had a glowing average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. Many shoppers praised its generous portion, delicious taste, and delectable moisture. "My favorite banana bread ever. The walnut [...] banana flavor sends my taste buds to Venus. This is an ole' skool, grandma, southern flavor," one delighted review gushed. That's certainly a convincing endorsement if we've ever read one!
How are Starbucks's and Walmart's banana loaves alike and different?
A single slice of Starbucks's banana walnut and pecan loaf is a weighty chunk. It holds its shape well, due to the thickness of the serving, and it's studded with nuts both inside and on the top. As per Starbucks's own nutritional info, one slice is 380 calories, although any drive-thru denizen can attest that the pieces tend to vary drastically in size depending on how it was cut, so this may (unofficially) be irregular.
The Marketside banana nut cake, on the other hand, is served up in a tray of eight pre-cut portions, each one of which is much daintier in size and heft than the Starbucks version. As per Walmart, there are 180 calories in a slice. This means that, for the same caloric hit as Starbucks, you can eat two slices for the price of one. The nutty filling is a bit scanter in Walmart's loaf, allowing more moist and sweet cake to shine.
We believe that Starbucks's banana loaf could conceivably be salvaged with careful warming and perhaps a schmear of butter to lend it the fat and richness that it so desperately needs. On the other hand, the Marketside cake is much more like a dessert, ready to top with some scooped vanilla ice cream or savor as a late-night treat. Life's too short to eat subpar banana bread, though, so, when push comes to shove, you might want to head to Walmart.