TWD: Cocoa-Nana Bread
It's Tuesday and Steph of Obsessed with Baking chose Cocoa-Nana Bread, an easy to make chocolate banana bread, with loads of chocolate chips. I made both a loaf of bread and muffins, and they were both good, but not great. I love both chocolate and bananas, and I thought the combination would be a sure winner. I'm not sure where the problem lies, but the banana flavor was barely noticeable and neither the bread or the muffins were as moist as I would have like them to be. Since cocoa has a drying effect, next time I would do one of two things with the cocoa; replace some of the cocoa with melted chocolate or dissolve the cocoa in hot water, which releases the cocoa butter. Or possibly, dare I say it, use less cocoa in order to get more banana flavor.
Dorie Greenspan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup semisweet cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter at room temp
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, or 1/2 cup store-bought
chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and place it on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets stacked on top of the other. (This extra insulation will keep the bottom of the bread from over baking.)
Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed for about a minute, until softened. Add the sugars and beat for 2 minutes more. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute after each addition. At this point, the batter may look a little curdled -- it's okay. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the mashed bananas. Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing only until they disappear into the batter. Still on low speed, add the buttermilk, mixing until it is incorporated. Stir in the chopped chocolate. Scrape the batter into the pan.
Bake for 30 minutes. Cover the bread loosely with a foil tent to keep the top from getting too dark, and continue to bake for another 40 to 45 minutes (total baking time is between 70 to 75 minutes) or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for at least 20 minutes before running a knife around the edges of the bread and unmolding. Invert and cool to room temp right side up.
To see what the other TWD bakers did visit our blog roll at Tuesdays with Dorie.
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