Chocolate is the star in Very Chocolatey Banana Bread

Cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate chips take the lead in this luscious double chocolate banana bread. Recipe below.

WHEN YOU HEAR CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD, what do you see? It could be a standard issue golden brown bread with molten chocolate chips flecking it throughout. Some home bakers create a marbled bread with veins of chocolate swirling around. Still other breads, like this one, go all in on the chocolate—both in appearance and in flavor.

In this double chocolate banana bread, cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate chips team up to deliver a luscious dark appearance and a delicious, very chocolatey taste. The two ripe bananas provide a nice, subtle flavor note that adds to the richness.

Despite its decadent look and taste, it’s not overly sweet—we use half the sugar most recipes call for. There’s no butter in it either, just neutral cooking oil. So while it’s not technically health food, you can feel a little better indulging in a slice. Or two.

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Very Chocolatey Banana Bread

Cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate chips take the lead in this luscious double chocolate banana bread.

Servings 10 or so slices

Ingredients

• 2 large very ripe bananas (about a cup of mashed banana)
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup neutral cooking oil, plus more for loaf pan (we used grapeseed oil)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup or more bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Oil a 9 x 5 loaf pan.
• In a medium bowl, mash the bananas, then add in the egg, vanilla, sugar, and oil and stir together well. Set the bowl aside.
• Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another medium bowl. Stir together gently with a fork.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients all at once and stir together with a big wooden spoon—don't use an electric mixer! Stirring by hand just until everything is combined will prevent this from becoming gummy or tough. Once everything is just mixed together, add in the chocolate chips and mix again, lightly, just enough to spread the chips uniformly throughout the batter.
• Spoon the batter into the loaf pan and put the pan in the hot oven. Set a timer for 55 minutes. Note that it may take as long as 65 minutes depending on your oven.
• It’s done when the bread is just barely beginning to pull away from the sides and a tester inserted near the center comes out clean—but if, in the testing, you think you've stabbed a melty chocolate chip, wipe the tester and try again in a slightly different spot.
• Set the bread, in the pan, on a rack to cool. After 10 or 15 minutes, carefully remove it from the pan and return it to the rack to finish cooling.

Kitchen Notes

Hot or not? All the moving parts should be room temperature before you start.

Why a neutral oil? The banana flavor in this bread is pretty subtle. A flavorless, or nearly flavorless, cooking oil will let that delicate flavor just.... be.

More chocolate? If you want this to be even more choco-fabulous, top with this two-ingredient frosting: gently melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips in the microwave or in the top of your double boiler, then let it cool until it is just warm to the touch. Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream, a spoonful at a time, until everything is even and smooth. That's it—the frosting is ready to spread.

Liz's Crockery Corner. This lovely floral plate from the mid-1800s has made a couple of appearances in the blog. You'll find its story here.