Recipe: Double Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

With a bunch of untouched bananas ripening in a silver bowl on the counter and a request from Dimple for something chocolate, I was on a mission to find the perfect recipe and stumbled on Double Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread by the fabulous Smitten Kitchen. It came out beautifully moist, made good use of my ripe bananas and satisfied the chocolate craving of everyone in the office the next day.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 large very ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup (115 grams) butter, melted
• 3/4 cup (145 grams) brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 cup (about 6 ounces or 170 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chunks or chips

Preheat the oven to 350F / 176C and mash up those bananas.

Whisk in the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla.

Sifting was recommended with the dry ingredients, but since I don’t have a sifter (why don’t I have a sifter…? Shopping list.) I mixed them together really well with a fork first.

So once you’ve sifted, pour in the baking soda, salt, cinnamon, flour and cocoa powder.

Stir well.

Next, the all important chocolate chips or chunks. I had a bag of semi-sweet Nestle chocolate chips that I brought back last time I was in New York so I poured those in.

Pop it in the oven for about 55 minutes. It’s ready when a toothpick in the middle comes out clean.

 If that’s a bit too much chocolate for you, my favourite way to use up ripe bananas is my aunt’s classic Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. Not a chocolate lover? Then check out Banana Bars with Rum Icing.