Dark Chocolate Banana Bread
A very dark and chocolate-y banana bread perfect for dessert or a special breakfast.
Servings 12
Ingredients
- 1 cup sifted flour measured after sifting (or just weigh out 125 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder (50 grams)
- 3 large very ripe bananas large (12 oz/340 grams weight after peeling)
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted (114 grams) melted
- ½ scant teaspoon salt omit if using salted butter
- ¾ cup light brown sugar (150 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips use more if desired
- ⅔ cup roasted and chopped pecans I use Trader Joe’s pre-roasted
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar or mix ¼ teaspoon cinnamon with about 1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. I like using a Pyrex loaf pan that I’ve greased and lined lengthwise with a sling of parchment or foil. The parchment/foil is optional, but good insurance.
- If you do not weigh your flour, sift it and then measure one cup. Mix the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder together very well and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas. Stir in the egg until well mixed, then stir in the butter and salt (if using unsalted butter). Stir in the vanilla and brown sugar. With a heavy duty scraper or mixing spoon, gradually stir in the flour mixture. When well blended, stir in the chocolate chips and half of the pecans.
- Spread mixture in the loaf pan, then sprinkle top with pecans and cinnamon sugar
- Bake the bread at 350 for about 1 hour (check it after about 45 minutes) or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Let the bread cool for about 20 minutes, then gently run a knife between bread and sides of pan to loosen. Do not remove bread from pan quite yet. Allow it to cool completely, then turn from pan or lift.
Notes
The original recipe, which I found in a British version of Good Housekeeping, used gram measurements. If you have a scale, your best bet is to go with weights, however the volumes will work. Also, if you want to skip the cinnamon and pecans, you can do what British Good Housekeeping did and drizzle the loaf with dulce de leche.
