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Chocolate Banana Bread Recipe:
1/2 cup (50 grams) walnuts or pecans
1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (25 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch processed or regular)
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon (4 grams) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) baking soda
1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) salt
1/2 cup (85 grams) white, dark, or milk chocolate chips
2 large eggs (100 grams), at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (375 grams) of mashed bananas (you will need 3 large ripe bananas) (approximately 1 pound or 450 grams)
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract
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Chocolate Banana Bread: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place your oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes or until lightly brown and fragrant. Let cool and then chop coarsely.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the chopped nuts and chocolate chips.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the eggs. Then add the mashed bananas, melted butter, and vanilla extract. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients until just combined and the batter is thick and chunky. Scrape batter into prepared pan, smoothing with the back of a spoon or offset spatula. Bake until the bread has risen and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 to 65 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool for about 15 minutes and then remove the bread from the pan. Can be covered and stored for a few days, or frozen for a couple of months.
Makes one loaf.
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This Chocolate Banana Bread combines the sweet flavor of ripe bananas with chocolate. I have always liked the pairing of chocolate and bananas, but in the past I have been content with just adding some chocolate chips to a regular banana bread batter. But then I decided to take my Banana Bread recipe and add unsweetened cocoa powder to it. The results were excellent; a bread with a mild chocolate flavor yet still retaining the sweetness and moistness that has always made banana bread popular. You will also notice the addition of chocolate chips (can use semi sweet, bittersweet, white or milk) to the batter which adds even more chocolate flavor. Serve this bread in the afternoon with a cup of tea or coffee, but I am not against having a slice for breakfast.
There are many types of bananas, but most of us are familiar with that long and curved bright yellow variety sold in bunches. Arriving at our shores over a hundred years ago, this tropical dessert fruit has many virtues; available year round, reasonably priced, of consistent quality, easy to peel, but most importantly, we know by the color of its skin how firm its flesh will be and how sweet it will taste. When you think about it, not many fruits can tell us so much just by looking at them. Bananas are picked while still green which means its flesh will be hard with little flavor. As time passes and the banana ripens, its skin begins to turn yellow and with that its flesh softens and its flavor sweetens. Further aging causes the skin to brown and its flesh to become very soft and sweet, and this is when you mash them with your fingers or fork and use them to bake this bread.
If you are like me almost every time I buy bananas a few (not enough though to make this bread) will turn brown before I get around to eating them. Instead of throwing them away, simply place them into a plastic bag and freeze them. You can also peel and mash them, stir in 1 teaspoon lemon juice for each banana, and freeze in an airtight container or bag. They will keep about six months in the freezer.