A Rich, Chocolatey Banana Bread
Dear banana bread lovers, putting chocolate chips in your banana bread is like having your bananas and chocolate go on a date. Lovely and sweet, yet still separate and distinct. After a while both want something more—a merging of wills, a commitment! Well, if chocolate and banana were to marry, this would be the result—a richly chocolate banana bread, infused with cocoa, speckled with chocolate chips, with warm hints of butter, vanilla, and allspice.
Video: How to Make Chocolate Banana Bread
When a bunch of bananas on your counter gets really speckled and threatens to be a magnet for fruit flies, toss them—peel and all—in the freezer. Thaw them overnight in the fridge, or for a few hours on the counter; set them in a bowl first to catch the brown liquid that will ooze out. Then, come baking time, just squeeze the flesh right out of the peel.
Dutch-Process Vs. Natural Cocoa in This Recipe
This recipe calls for unsweetened natural cocoa powder and not Dutch-process. What’s the difference? It’s a question of color, flavor, and pH level. Natural (non-Dutched) cocoa is naturally a bit acidic and slightly fruitier tasting because of the way cacao beans are fermented before processing (cacao, remember, is a fruit). For the color and leavening in this recipe to be optimal, you want an acid/base reaction with the baking soda, which is basic. Dutch-process cocoa is treated with alkaline salts to darken its color and create a milder flavor. The nearly black color of Oreos is an extreme example of Dutching (it’s called that because the process was developed by Coenraad van Houten, who was Dutch). Unlike natural cocoa powder, it is basic (alkaline). The baking soda in this recipe is, too. The leavening in recipe is designed for a little boost of an acidic ingredient (in this case, natural cocoa powder) to react with the basic baking soda. Natural cocoa in this recipe is preferable, but not a requirement. We’re not tried it ourselves, but readers have reported success with Dutch-process cocoa in their comments. It will be darker, with more of a fudgy flavor versus a purer chocolate flavor. You may want to reduce the salt, too, as Dutch cocoa powder can have residual salts from the alkalizing process. Melted coconut oil can be used in place of the butter. The flavor will change a little and you may get a hint of coconut in the result. We find it works just as well baked in an 8 x 4 or 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Gently remove the loaf from the pan and place on the rack to cool completely. Slice with a serrated bread knife to serve. Did you love the recipe? Leave us stars below?
