Hello there,

This recipe is a favorite of mine and I make it whenever the occasion presents itself. Meaning: whenever I have bananas that are in a brown, sad state of affairs which is quite often.

My husband is reluctant when it comes to fruit in general but I’d occasionally try to have him eat some so I’d put a banana in his lunch. Sometimes he would return them…sometimes he wouldn’t. Then one day, after two years, he just broke it to me, “Babe, I don’t eat bananas”   I was flabergasted! Who the heck doesn’t eat bananas!!?? They’re wonderful and portable; they have their own carrying case and everything! 

The good news is that although he dislikes bananas, he loves this banana bread  🙂 Its great for breakfast, a snack or dessert or in our house, its great for all three in one day.

This recipe was adapted from Tyler Florence’s Banana Bread with Pecans. My husband is a chocolate lover so I added chocolate chips to make him happy.

Enjoy!

Banana Bread with Pecans and Chocolate Chips

Ingredients:

2 Cups of all purpose flour

1+1/2 tsp of baking soda

1/2 tsp of salt

4 overripe bananas (Mash two of them with a fork)

3/4 cup of sugar

3/4 cup (1+1/2 sticks) of unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs

1 tsp of vanilla extract

1/4 cup pecans, finely chopped

1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips (50%)

Confectioners sugar for dusting (optional)

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together for a good 3 minutes; you want a light and fluffy banana cream. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla; beat well and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated; no need to overly blend. Fold in the nuts, chocolate chips and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Give the pan a good rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.

Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Don’t get nervous if the banana bread develops a crack down the center of the loaf; that’s no mistake, it’s typical. Rotate the pan periodically to ensure even browning.

Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes or so, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. Toast the slices of banana bread, dust with confectioners’ sugar, and serve.

Notes:

-Feel free to adjust the ratio of chocolate vs. nuts or to add more sugar. I reduced the amount to 3/4 cup of white sugar but the original recipe calls for 1 whole cup

–You can use milk chocolate, semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips. All work great but I am partial to dark. It’s rich in flavour, more reminiscent of coffee and of course dark chocolate is healthier.

-Also, if you only have only 3 overripe bananas left, which happens to me quite often for some reason, the recipe still works great! Mash two bananas and combine the last one with the sugar.

-If you want to use a bundt pan, baking time is about 40 to 45 minutes.

Hope you love it 😀

See the original recipe here!
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/banana-bread-with-pecans-recipe.print.html?oc=linkback