Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

A simply stunning banana bread batter allows the rich chocolate chips to transform something basic into something stupendous.

It seems as though this recipe roll I keep rolling out is an homage to the dying fruit in the kitchen.  Apple this, berry that, banana, banana, banana everything.  Fruit is perfection when it is at its peak ripeness: juicy and tart, with firm flesh and a completely satisfying mouth feel.  For many, an abundance of bananas and possibly, the appearance of fruit flies, allows for some of the most magical of quick breads to come out of the kitchen.  When the bananas look a little dilapidated and sorrowfully sad, you know it is time to rescue them from the fate of the trash bin and make them gloriously fresh in a perfect loaf of banana bread or muffins.

I have long had a love affair with banana baked goods.  There is something just so transformative about the badly bruised fruit getting smashed, mashed, and baked into the coziest of breakfast breads, muffins, or cakes.  You can add rum, dried fruits, nuts, chocolate, peanut butter, or even dried jalapeños to the batter to make each loaf unique and ridiculously delicious.  Some people swear by sour cream, yogurt, oil, or butter to help keep the bread moist and the crumb tender.  Raw bananas and chocolate may not seem like a match made in heaven (to me, anyways), but throw some chocolate chips in banana bread and BOOM it is something that is addictingly delicious that you keep going back for more, bite by sneaky bite.

A tender crumb, the silky chocolate, this Chocolate Chip Banana Bread is one of my favorite ways to save dying bananas.

The base for this Chocolate Chip Banana Bread is something I’ve been working on for a while, and one of the best “basic” banana bread recipes I’ve come up with.  It is a pure banana flavor, with the subtle hint of vanilla wafting through and a little bit of caramel from the brown sugar used.  There is nothing quite like butter in a baked good recipe, that rich, creamy taste, and when the butter is browned, it transforms into a nutty perfection that only enhances the sweet bananas.  Salt balances out the sweetness, and the crumb of the bread is tender and fine, and melts in your mouth.  Adding in the little bit of milk helps create that tender crumb and helps the bread from drying out in the oven.  Really, this simple banana bread batter creates a pretty much perfect pure banana bread.

Save the last 1/3 Cup of chocolate chips to scatter on the top of the loaf. It not only adds beauty, it allows the loaf itself to not be overladen with chocolate. A perfect balance.

However, once you add in the chocolate chips, you go from an extra delicious loaf of banana bread to a decadent, yet approachable for everyday eating loaf of deliciousness.  A slice of this is perfect with milk, with a cup of good, strong coffee, as breakfast, a mid-afternoon snack, or what one may call a “healthier” dessert after dinner.  It’s an all purpose loaf of sunshine that gets you through the day and even through the night if needed.  In short, it’s something that saved my sanity a lot throughout the interesting times of 2020 and now, since it is perfected, will get me (and hopefully you) through 2021.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Author:  Iris Anna Gohn

Servings 1 Loaf (10-12 slices)

This Chocolate Chip Banana Bread takes maybe a step or two more than the one bowl banana bread recipes, but I assure you, the result is stupendous.  Browning the butter makes all the difference in the base banana bread recipe as does adding just that tiny bit of milk.

The baking time varies due to the amount of mashed banana you get from your four bananas.  Sometimes you end up with extra huge bananas, and that takes a little more time to bake the loaf completely.  I always set the oven for 50 minutes to start off with and the check, adding a few more minutes at a time if needed to bake completely through.

Store the leftovers (if any) in an airtight container.  The bread holds up well for 3 days, and on day 4 I like to melt a little butter in a pan and griddle each side of the last couple slices of banana bread to create a gorgeous crust for texture while melting the chocolate chips.  

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 Cups All Purpose Flour

• 1 Tsp Baking Soda

• 1 Tsp Baking Powder

• 1/4 Tsp Sea Salt

• 1/2 Cup (1 Stick) Butter, browned (I use Salted Butter, Costco brand, however if using unsalted butter increase salt by 1/4 Tsp)

• 1/2 Cup Granulated White Sugar

• 1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar

• 2 Eggs, room temperature

• 2 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

• 4 large Bananas, mashed

• 2 Tbsp Whole Milk

• 1 1/3 Cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips, divided (I use Ghirardelli Chocolate as its a favorite)

Directions:

1. Preheat Oven to 350 F. Spray and line a 9x5 loaf pan with both nonstick spray parchment paper. Set pan aside

2. In a small pan over medium heat, brown the butter. This should take 7-10 minutes. You are looking for a beautifully nutty flavor, the butter will foam up like crazy for a couple minutes but keep going, the butter starts to brown shortly after the butter foams. The butter will be a deep, golden brown and smell/taste very nutty when it hits peak brownness. Remove from heat and set aside while prepping the rest of the ingredients to let the butter cool a little.

3. In a medium bowl using a potato masher, mash the 4 bananas until smooth. Add in the vanilla and milk, stir to combine thoroughly. Set the mixture aside.

4. In a small bowl add the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Whisk together to incorporate air and make sure all the leaving/salt is thoroughly incorporated.Set aside.

5. In a large bowl, whisk together the butter and white and brown sugars. Use a spatula to remove the browned butter from the pan as to get all the delicious browned bits into the batter. Once the sugars and butter are thoroughly combined, whisk in each egg until there is a smooth, creamy consistency.

6. Add the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula until the dry ingredients are almost incorporated. Flour streaks are okay at this point, you’re about to add more moisture to the bowl with the bananas.

7. Add the mashed bananas and 1 Cup of the chocolate chips. Gently combine until the flour is incorporated and the bananas/chocolate chips are incorporated into the batter.

8. Using a spatula, transfer the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the top of the batter evenly with the remaining chocolate chips.

9. Bake for 55-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.