Chocolate is delicious with just about everything, and whoever first thought of matching it with bananas is a genius! Combine them in this delicious chocolate banana bread and you can have a sweet treat that also has some good health benefits!
I am Joan and Gail’s Aunt Kit. I have two daughters who were very picky eaters when they were young. One wouldn’t eat anything green and the other wouldn’t touch anything red. This proved challenging when trying to put together meals for everyone. To this day my youngest (who is in her 40’s) does not like bananas. She says it has something to do with the texture. However, she does like chocolate banana bread as does the rest of my family.
My husband likes bananas on his cereal in the morning but is always buying more than he needs at one time so we watch the extra one or two sit there and get riper and riper until they are almost black. While they don’t look all that appetizing when they get that ripe, this is the perfect time to use them for my chocolate banana bread. Because you don’t usually have a full batch of over-ripe bananas all at once, I’ll save them until I have enough to make this recipe. I smush them into a 2 cup freezer container, making sure to get the air bubbles out, and place it in the freezer. As I get more over-ripe bananas, I add them to the container and place it back in the freezer. When the container is full, I know that I have just the right amount for the recipe. I then thaw them out in the refrigerator for a day
and, voila! I haven’t wasted those extra bananas and I’m ready to cook.
This chocolate banana bread is really popular with my husband. He likes it fresh out of the oven, but if there is any left on the second and third day, he will pop a slice or two in the toaster. The sugar content in the banana bread makes for a nice crispy outer layer, and makes the house smell wonderfully sweet. (Just make sure you don’t overcook as it will then make everything smell like burnt sugar!) And if you want an easy to grab and go option, you can make muffins instead of a loaf.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 5 tablespoons milk
- 3 cups flour
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 cup canola oil
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups mashed very over-ripe bananas (they should be mostly black on the outside)
- 2 cups pecans, chopped (can be omitted for allergies)
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- Dash of salt
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate bits
Instructions
- Mix the 1 tablespoon vinegar and 5 tablespoons milk. Let stand until it is listed to be added to the batter.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Farenheit.
- Add in the order listed and mix after each ingredient:
- 3 cups flour
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 cup canola oil
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups mashed very over-ripe bananas (they should be mostly black on the outside)
- 2 cups pecans, chopped (can be omitted for allergies)
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- Dash of salt
- 6 Tbsp sour milk (vinegar and milk blend)
- 2 tsp of vanilla
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate bits
- Bake for 1 hour in large loaf pans or closer to 45 minutes for smaller ones or muffins. Test for doneness with a toothpick before removing from the oven.
- Makes 3 large loaves, 6 small ones or 36 muffins.