Not my mom's banana bread

Banana bread to me has always just been banana bread..... until yesterday!  As always, I pick up a few bananas thinking I will actually eat them.  I eat one and then, I wait, I watch until the others turn that nice mottled color which means they are perfect for baking.  When my oldest son was in college I remember saying that it always seemed strange that there were always two uneaten bananas left on the counter.  He just laughed and said he was surprised that I had not already figured out why, thinking it was pretty obvious that when they left two I would always make banana bread or, better yet, my grandmother's banana cake with buttercream frosting.  Mystery solved.  Now that my kids have all moved away I still buy bananas even though I don't even really like them.  I guess I am secretly wishing for something to get baked.  My old stand-by banana bread recipe seemed a bit boring to me yesterday and I knew I had an excess of coconut because I had inadvertently purchased two bags instead of one on my last granola ingredients run.  I grabbed a bag before I started talking to someone in the grocery aisle and then grabbed the second when I finished talking.  Short memory.  I had some baking chocolate that needed to be used so I was hoping to find a banana/coconut/chocolate bread recipe.   Now, I am wishing my sons were home to share this one because I know I could eat it all by myself.

I made a few changes to the recipe which did not compromise it.  I only had 2 bananas(why did I bother to eat one?) so I used one 4 oz. peach/mango applesauce and I only had 2.5 oz. of chocolate instead of the 4.  Olive oil option was used and I didn't have the extra fine shred coconut for the top so I used regular and pressed it in a little because I thought it might burn, it didn't.  I had a difficult time 'swirling' the batters together because of the consistency so mine ended up more like two slightly swirled layers but again that didn't really matter.  Next time I might try putting the spoonful's of chocolate batter in the middle.  My oven runs hot and I have a dark finish bread pan so I baked mine at 325 degrees for 65 minutes.  You know your oven better than I do so adjust accordingly! 

 

 

 

Banana-Coconut Chocolate Swirl Bread
Makes one loaf

1 1/2	cups flour
1 1/2	teaspoons baking soda
1/2	teaspoon salt
1/2	cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2	tablespoons coconut oil or olive oil
1/2	cup granulated sugar
1/2	cup dark brown sugar
2	eggs
1	teaspoon vanilla extract
3	or 4 ripe bananas, mashed
4	ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
1	cup unsweetened small shred coconut
	Extra small shred coconut (for sprinkling)

1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.

2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt to blend them; set aside.

3. In an electric mixer, cream the butter, coconut oil or olive oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until the mixture is light in color. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and bananas.

4. With the mixer set on its lowest speed, beat in the flour mixture until just blended.

5. Remove 1 cup of the batter and transfer to a small bowl. Stir the melted chocolate into the smaller amount of batter until well-blended. Stir the coconut into the larger amount of batter.

6. Pour the coconut batter into the loaf pan. Add the chocolate batter by spoonfuls on top. With a blunt knife, swirl the two batters together, making sure to cut all the way down to the bottom of the loaf pan. Sprinkle the top of the batter with extra coconut.

7. Bake the bread for 60 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes away with just a few small crumbs. Cool the bread on a rack for 20 minutes. Turn it out and set it right side up on the rack to cool.

 

 

 

Everything goes better with a mug of Earl Grey Crème tea!


Adapted from “Desserted: Recipes and Tales From an Island Chocolatier’’  by Kate Shaffer

Visit her blog, Black Dinah Chocolatiers  Another reason to love Maine besides it's blueberry pie and lobster rolls.