Chocolate Banana Bread
Ever buy bananas with the intention of letting them turn speckly, fugly, soft and mushy? Well if you don’t , you most definitely should. Overripe bananas are an excellent excuse to make banana bread.
This banana bread, courtesy of the folks at Cook’s Ilustrated, has deep banana flavor while remaining moist and light. But I think the best part of it is the chocolate. Yes, I know I’ve said a zillion times I don’t like chocolate but it totally works in this bread. I used a knife to cut up a bar as fine as I could and turned it into something like a chocolate dust. Because it was so fine, the chocolate flavor will not hit you over your head. What it does do is beautifully perfume the bread and give it that extra little umph that takes it over the top.
Make this bread for someone you love or your coworkers, like I did. And you’ll be assured to be called a hero in the office.
Only make sure you tell those you live with that you meant to leave your bananas to almost go bad. As my dear hubby almost threw mine away. Imagine the banana tragedy. Oy!
Chocolate Banana Bread
Ingredients:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan
1 1/4 cups walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
3 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 very ripe, soft, darkly speckled large bananas, mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extractDirections:
Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350°F degrees. Spray the inside of a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
Whisk the flour, chocolate, sugar, baking soda, salt, and walnuts together in a large bowl and set aside.
Mix the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with a wooden spoon in a medium bowl. Lightly fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined. The batter will look thick and chunky. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55-60 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. (The bread can be wrapped with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.)
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Megan — October 13, 2011 @ 11:05 am
I love chocolate in my banana bread (and in carrot cake for that matter) — it just works. This bread looks gorgeous!
Rosa — October 13, 2011 @ 11:33 am
A beautiful cake! A winning combination.
Cheers,
Rosa
paula — October 13, 2011 @ 11:44 am
chocolate and banana are the perfect combo in my book! Looks delish!
jeannette — October 13, 2011 @ 11:54 am
yum, this looks amahzing!! i’m always up for making some chocolate chunky banana bread!
Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic — October 13, 2011 @ 11:58 am
I love using chocolate chips in banana bread but next time I will use some good dark chocolate and finely chop it! Thanks for the idea.
Terra — October 13, 2011 @ 1:13 pm
I agree, chocolate makes banana bread so much happier:-) I am such a lover of banana bread, your bread looks so moist:-) Take care, Terra
Jackie — October 13, 2011 @ 3:15 pm
I love banana bread but never with chocolate as an ingredient. This will definitely be one of my “must make” recipes.
Muah.
Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction — October 13, 2011 @ 9:08 pm
This looks delish! Love the addition of chocolate.
Spike — October 14, 2011 @ 9:14 am
I love chocolate in banana bread! So nice. I just made a pumpkin bread with chocolate chips- something about that lit bit of chocolate really adds to a lot of baked goods. love it
Joanne — October 14, 2011 @ 11:01 am
I hate bananas plain so when I buy them, it is exclusively for banana baking purposes! I love the idea of grating the chocolate so that it can really mix and mingle throughout the bread. Glorious!
snooky doodle — October 14, 2011 @ 11:33 am
looks good. yummy!
Yvette ~ Muy Bueno Cookbook — October 14, 2011 @ 12:43 pm
I think the carb diet is out the window this weekend. You are naughty!!! I love it
Lori — October 14, 2011 @ 6:26 pm
Perfect timing. We’ve gotten behind in our banana eating this week and a couple are sitting on my counter ready to dive into some bread!
Katie — October 15, 2011 @ 10:42 am
Wow. I’ve seen so many versions of banana bread, but this one truly looks unique! Yum!
Brian @ A Thought For Food — October 15, 2011 @ 5:40 pm
Oh i made a CI banana bread last weekend, though it was a bit different from this one, and it was divine! Love the chocolate in here!
CookiePie — October 17, 2011 @ 8:47 am
Yum! I love banana bread, and the chocolate “dust” in there must add another layer of deliciousness!
I often put cocoa powder in my banana bread:
http://www.bethlipton.com/cookiepie/2011/4/2/whole-wheat-chocolate-banana-bread.html
I bet that with the addition of your chocolate “dust” would be heavenly
Prerna@IndianSimmer — October 17, 2011 @ 7:16 pm
You got me! I ALWAYS buy a few extra bananas just to very innocently forget t eat them for a few days to later turn them into loaves
That’s a great recipe and definitely worth adding to my banana bread recipe list!!
Katrina — October 19, 2011 @ 9:11 pm
Your bread looks great. My kids will only eat banana bread if there is chocolate in it.
Kerstin — October 19, 2011 @ 10:57 pm
Mmmm, CIs has the best recipes – looks so good! My hubby is always bringing home extra bananas in hopes that some will go bad and I’ll make banana bread
Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets — October 23, 2011 @ 6:13 pm
2 of my favorites in an easy quickbread? I am so making this
Sara @ Saucy Dipper — October 24, 2011 @ 5:10 pm
Yes, it would’ve been a tragedy. Glad your bananas were saved and you got to make this beauty of a bread.
A Plum By Any Other Name — October 25, 2011 @ 7:16 am
I’ve been dying to make banana bread, but I can’t seem to get it together to buy enough bananas that I’m able to let some sit and ripen. I’m 100% with you on the chocolate too, while I’m not head-over-heels for it I bet it would be great in this. Another potential banana tragedy averted. Ah, all in a day’s work.
Barbara — October 26, 2011 @ 4:25 pm
I like the addition of yogurt in this recipe, Eliana. And, of course, a little bit of chocolate takes it over the top!
Barbara @ Barbara Bakes — October 28, 2011 @ 10:17 pm
Yum! What a great idea to add chocolate. I might be tempted to add chocolate chips too!
Magic of Spice — November 22, 2011 @ 3:46 pm
Dark chocolate and banana…delightful! Does indeed look incredibly moist, verty tempting