It is a keeper recipe. It is like chocolate cake and banana bread got married and produced this almost fudgy chocolate banana bread. I am making two of these loaves today; just double the recipe!
This is the quintessential loaf that embodies comfort food among the kingdom of sweet breads. It is moist, full-bodied and tasty beyond belief. It is chocolatey, so you know you will be zooming, getting all your work done and yet some, after a slice or two of this sweet bread! How do I know? lol
I prefer this banana bread to just about any other that I have tried, and I have made many different ones through the years. We always have bananas on hand as I feed the wild birds in the jungle when they visit my garden and the bird feeder. Ian positioned the bird feeder under the eaves in such a way that it is impossible for the naughty squirrels to get to the basket, although some enterprising squirrels have tried again and again, to no avail. Jeoffroy Tamarin monkeys have on occasion managed to jump into the basket to help themselves to the bananas. However, even for them it is a masterful skill they need, so they usually don't go to all that trouble.
The butter, sour cream and mashed banana keep this loaf moist and super delicious. This is definitely one of my most favorite banana loaves of all - a double chocolate banana loaf - what is better than that; best of all it is fail proof and delicious. The flavor is chocolatey with a distinct banana flavor as well. This loaf is sophisticated enough to serve as dessert.
Remember when making banana loaf, using ripe bananas makes for the best loaf among banana bread recipes.
To test for doneness use a toothpick or knife in the center of the loaf. If wet batter is sticking to them, then you know you should bake the loaf for at least another 10 minutes. In the last 10 minutes of baking or more, I cover the banana loaf with tin foil lightly to prevent over browning.
I don't recommend leaving the chocolate chips out as it results in a sweeter loaf when you use them in this chocolate chip banana bread. If you like, you can make muffins instead of a loaf out of this bread. You can enjoy this loaf at room temperature for 24 hours, but after that it must be refrigerated, as there are no preservatives like sugar to keep it fresh. I must say I love the chocolate flavor in banana bread and the cocoa simply adds something lovely to the texture of this bread.
If you love the flavors of peanut butter and chocolate, you could spread a slice with your favorite peanut butter. You can freeze this loaf and then thaw at room temperature when required. Wrap well in plastic wrap and aluminum foil before freezing. If you keep it in the freezer, do so for no more than 2 months. After that thaw, enjoy and keep in the fridge in an airtight container.
I like to use a large mixing bowl for the dry ingredients, so that I have room to mix in the wet ingredients, if I am doing it that way. This time I used the mixer.
You can add chopped walnuts or
chopped pecans to this bread. Place the banana mixture in the prepared
loaf pan in the preheated oven and 10 minutes before the end of total
time, check to see how it is doing with a toothpick, knife (usually what
I use), or a cake tester (I have this but more often than not, just
reach for a dinner knife or a pointy, smooth paring knife. It is those
last mins that count. You don't want to overcook or under cook your
banana bread. A few moist crumbs are not a problem.
You could swap out the sour cream for a nice thick, plain Greek yogurt, if desired. I like to use
Hershey cocoa and Hershey chocolate chips would work here. This is such a classic banana bread recipe. I hope you will try it soon. You can use Dutch-process cocoa powder or natural cocoa powder. I only had the former on hand and it worked very well. They are both unsweetened cocoa powder.
Who doesn't love super moist banana
bread, although I would not call this super moist, but rather simply
moist. The dark chocolate chips add something wonderful to this loaf.
You could cut some of the chocolate chips by substituting some chopped
walnuts, if desired. This loaf is a chocolate lovers dream for sure.
The only way one could make it more chocolatey is to smother the top in
a chocolate ganache. Imagine!
INGREDIENTS:
11/4 cups Gluten-Free Bake Mix 2, OR (300 mL)
11/2 cups Keto Bake Mix (375 mL)
1/2
cup Dutch cocoa powder (125 mL)
1 tsp baking powder (5 mL)
1/2
tsp baking soda (2 mL)
1/8
tsp salt (0.5 mL)
1/2
cup butter, melted (125 mL)
3 large eggs, fork beaten
Liquid sweetener to equal 1 cup sugar, OR (250 mL)
to taste
1/2
cup sour cream (125 mL)
1 tsp vanilla extract (5 mL)
1 cup well-mashed banana (250 mL)
3/4
cup sugarless chocolate chips (175 mL)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line an 8 x 4-inch (20 x 10 cm) loaf pan with
parchment paper, first spraying it with cooking spray to help the paper adhere to
the pan.
In
large bowl, combine Gluten-Free Bake Mix 2, OR Keto Bake Mix, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking
soda and salt.
In
bowl with mixer, mix cooled butter and eggs together. Add liquid sweetener, sour cream and vanilla extract; mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix just until
combined. Stir in mashed banana and chocolate
chips, reserving a few for the top of the loaf. Spoon batter into prepared loaf
pan and smooth the top with the back of a spoon. Bake about 50 minutes, or until a knife
inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Cover pan lightly with foil at the 40 minute mark.
Cool in pan 15 minutes and then pick up the parchment using it as handles to
lift the bread right out of the pan and place on a wire rack after removing the
parchment paper. Allow to cool completely. Refrigerate after no more than 12 hours, as there
are no preservatives in the loaf such as sugar.
Helpful Hint: If you don’t have a wire rack or you are feeling
lazy, it will not hurt the loaf to sit on a cutting board instead. The reason one uses a wire rack is to allow it
to get air underneath and prevent the loaf from getting soggy. In this case, it won’t get soggy.
Yield: 18 servings
1
serving
151.8
calories
3.4
g protein
11.3
g fat
1.3 g fiber
5.6
g net carbs
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