Double Chocolate Banana Bread

 



I found myself with quite a few overripe bananas from a neighbor, so I did what any logical person would do, I made banana bread. This week, I'm sharing a chocolate version that I've been wanting to try. I've made a version of banana bread with chocolate chips in the past, but wasn't super pleased with it. Something about chocolate chips in banana bread just didn't do it for me. This one however, from Smitten Kitchen, is a chocolate banana bread with chocolate in it. I loved this and I can't imagine anyone not liking it.

It's super chocolaty, not too sweet, and the banana flavor is present, but takes a backseat to the chocolate, so even people who don't love bananas will like it. Use bananas that are very ripe but not black. My crazy younger sister thought it was too dark in terms of the chocolate flavor, so for less mature palates, you can use natural cocoa powder and a sweeter chocolate if you like. This banana bread is incredibly moist and simple to make. It's a bit crumbly and fudgy like a brownie. I can foresee many many more loaves of this banana bread in the future and you will too once you give this a try. It also freezes and defrosts really well, so you can make several loaves at once, freeze them in wrapped individual slices and just take one out whenever you want a slice.

I had plenty of bananas, so another delicious banana bread will be coming next week.

Double Chocolate Banana Bread
Slightly Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Makes one 9 x 5 inch loaf

3 medium - large very ripe bananas, mashed (a little more than 1 cup mashed)
1/2 cup(115 g) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup, lightly packed(145 g) brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine table salt
1 cup(125 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, or natural cocoa powder
4 oz finely chopped chocolate, semisweet or bittersweet

Preheat your oven to 350 deg F. Butter and flour or line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with parchment.

Whisk the mashed bananas with the melted butter in a large bowl. Then, add in the brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract. Mix for another 1-2 min.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir with a spatula until just combined. Fold in the chopped chocolate.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for about 55-65 min, until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before removing the banana bread from the pan. Banana bread will keep, wrapped in foil, for a few days. Freeze in individual slices, wrapped in plastic wrap, and placed in a Ziploc bag for longer storage.