Lately, a little stack of bananas has been accumulating in the corner of my room and was starting to turn very brown. I think besides just doing what bananas do, they were also trying to tell me that I need to get back on top of blogging and go make some banana bread!
Of course I have all the usual excuses for why I haven't been cooking or baking as often.. but on top of dance show auditions, midterms around the corner and work four days a week, I also have some very exciting news. You'll have to wait a little bit to hear what it is exactly (I want to have it more set in stone first!), but just know that it's kept me incredibly busy. I know I know, I'm being a tease.
In the meantime, I highly suggest you take a break from your own busy schedule and make this banana bread. There are so many banana bread recipes out there in the world, but this one is so delicious. It's sweet, moist, super banana-y, and really fun to make with the stripes! Plus, as I have preached many times, chocolate makes everything better.
Chocolate-Striped Banana Bread (adapted from this recipe at Babble's Family Kitchen)
makes one loaf
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup applesauce
1/3 cup soy milk
1 1/2 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1. Preheat your oven to 350º and lightly oil a loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the canola oil and sugar. In a measuring cup, combine the soy milk and vinegar and let it curdle for a few minutes.
3. Mash the bananas into the sugar mixture, then stir in the applesauce, soy milk and vanilla. Sift in the flours, baking powder and salt. Stir with a spatula until just combined.
4. Pour half of the batter into a separate bowl and mix in the cocoa powder. Spread a layer of plain batter into your pan, topped with a layer of chocolate batter, then repeat until all of the batter is used up (I ended up with 4 stripes total). Bake for about an hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Success! Yummy, crumbly and beautiful stripes of chocolate and banana.
Here is a fun song to get you through the week :)
I have never heard of striped banana bread until now-- and the proof is in the beautiful photographs! Stunning! And so is the bread- can't wait to try it, but my bananas are still green. :(
ReplyDeleteThanks! Here's a little trick I've read about: if you want your bananas to ripen faster, seal them in a paper bag with an apple for a day or two- something about the acids mixing makes the bananas brown quickly!
DeleteInteresting! I do that with my green tomatoes in the fall to ripen them. Never thought to do it with bananas. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis is in interesting twist on a classic. Looks great!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Deleteoh...this looks so delicious. I will be baking this very soon. I hope you did great on your midterms. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! Let me know how it turns out! My midterms are still coming up... the studying continues...
DeleteWhat a beautiful looking loaf of Banana Bread!! Great photos!! Want to make this!!!
ReplyDeleteJust made this bread tonight. It has really good texture and is very moist. I think I would add a little more sugar to the recipe if I make this again. It is not sweet at all.
ReplyDeleteThanks for trying out my recipe! I must say, I'm surprised- I found the bread to be very sweet- but everyone has different preferences! This recipe is very easily adaptable to suit anyone's sweet tooth :)
DeleteI wish I could have one slice of this delicious and good looking bread :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to only eat one ;)
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