Triple Chocolate Banana Bread

Have some ripe bananas sitting around that need to be eaten?

Here’s what’s baking in my kitchen this week:

I am trying to incorporate more whole grains in my diet and thought this recipe would be a great way to try baking with whole wheat pastry flour and use up some ripe bananas.

Whole wheat pastry flour can be a little tough to find, but I purchased mine from Whole Foods.  If you prefer, you can swap in regular all-purpose flour for some of the whole wheat pastry flour.  I must admit that the texture does take a little getting used to.

Perfect for breakfast, dessert, or just a snack!


Triple Chocolate Banana Bread

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Ingredients
  

  • 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate melted and slightly cooled
  • 1/2 cup butter melted and slightly cooled
  • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 cups mashed banana 3-4 bananas
  • 1 cup chocolate chips I used semi-sweet but you could also use milk chocolate

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan by spraying with cooking spray or brushing with melted butter. Over a double boiler, melt the 4 oz of semi-sweet chocolate and set aside to slightly cool. Melt the butter and set aside to cool slightly.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa power, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar and egg. Add vanilla and milk. Stir in mashed bananas and butter and mix until incorporated.
  • Gently stir wet ingredients (bananas etc.) into the dry ingredients (flour etc.) until just combined. Stir in melted chocolate and be careful not to over mix. Fold in chocolate chips.
  • Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. Let cool completely on a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container.

Notes

If you want the benefits of coconut oil, you could swap that out for the butter, or use 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp of mild olive oil.