Dark Chocolate Chip & Walnut Banana Bread
It seems that we can’t get to the halfway point in July before we're trying a new banana bread recipe. We feel like this happens, without fail, every single year. Our grandma’s banana nut bread will always be the nearest and dearest to our heart, but that has never stopped us from experimenting. Over the years, we've made a black and white banana loaf, bananas foster banana bread, peanut butter-chocolate chip banana bread, zucchini-banana bread, ultimate banana bread, and yet, we still can’t pass up a banana bread recipe when we see one. It’s the same weakness we have for chocolate chip cookie or brownie recipes. Even though we have tried and true favorites, we just HAVE to try that new one we find.
So, when we saw a recipe for banana bread with not just walnuts, but chunks of dark chocolate, there was no question that we needed to make it.
We just so happened to have three bananas sitting on our counter that were starting to look rather pathetic, so we quickly mashed them up, grabbed some dark chocolate chunks and walnuts from the pantry, and we were in business.
The original recipe calls for making this bread using an electric mixer, but we're a firm believer that things like speedy breads, muffins and brownies should be able to be made with a bowl, a whisk and a spatula… no special equipment necessary. So, we went ahead and did just that, and we don’t think it had any negative effects on the recipe whatsoever, especially since it called for mixing on low the entire time.
The dark chocolate cuts the sweetness of the bananas and the walnuts give the bread a toasty crunch… a reliable combination of flavors and textures. Add this to our ever-growing list of banana bread recipes that we've made and loved… on to the next!
Four years ago: Peach Cobbler
Six years ago: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Dark Chocolate Chip & Walnut Banana Bread
Yield: 8 servings (1 loaf) A fantastic banana bread with chunks of walnuts and dark chocolate.- ½ cup (85 g) dark chocolate chunks
- ⅓ cup (39 g) walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
- 1¼ cups (156.25 g) all-purpose flour
- 1¼ teaspoons (1.25 teaspoons) baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) kosher salt
- 1 cup (225 g) mashed banana with no lumps, about 2 to 3 medium bananas
- ¼ cup (54.5 ml) vegetable oil
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup (57.5 ml) sour cream
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8½x4½-inch loaf pan.
- In a small bowl, toss the chocolate chunks and walnuts with 2 tablespoons of the all-purpose flour.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the remaining flour with the baking soda, then stir in the salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, oil, sugar, egg and sour cream until completely smooth. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks and walnuts until evenly distributed.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until dark brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few plush crumbs attached, 60 to 75 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes, then turn the bread out of the pan and allow to cool to warm room temperature before serving. The bread can be stored, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap at room temperature, for up to 5 days. This bread can also be frozen (wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in a freezer ziploc bag) for up to 2 months.
Notes
Nutritional values are based on one serving
- Yield: 8 servings (1 loaf)
- Prep: 30 minutes
- Cook: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Total: 1 hour 45 minutes
Ingredients
- ½ cup ( 85 g ) dark chocolate chunks
- ⅓ cup ( 39 g ) walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
- 1¼ cups ( 156.25 g ) all-purpose flour
- 1¼ teaspoons ( 1.25 teaspoons ) baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon ( 0.25 teaspoon ) kosher salt
- 1 cup ( 225 g ) mashed banana with no lumps, about 2 to 3 medium bananas
- ¼ cup ( 54.5 ml ) vegetable oil
- ½ cup ( 100 g ) granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup ( 57.5 ml ) sour cream
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8½x4½-inch loaf pan.
- In a small bowl, toss the chocolate chunks and walnuts with 2 tablespoons of the all-purpose flour.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the remaining flour with the baking soda, then stir in the salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, oil, sugar, egg and sour cream until completely smooth. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks and walnuts until evenly distributed.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until dark brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few plush crumbs attached, 60 to 75 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes, then turn the bread out of the pan and allow to cool to warm room temperature before serving. The bread can be stored, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap at room temperature, for up to 5 days. This bread can also be frozen (wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in a freezer ziploc bag) for up to 2 months.
