Deep Chocolate Banana Bread

We recently prepared this decadent bread for Elaine’s turn at breakfast club. It has been adapted from a recipe from King Arthur’s Flour. We found the original recipe a little sweet but this is still as rich and sweet as necessary. We recommend using mini loaf pans as the consistency of the bread is better than the larger loaf. The crumb in the larger loaf is a bit more gooey. You will also note that this will not rise as high as some quick breads. Chocolate lovers will delight in this treat.

Ingredients

1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) soft unsalted butter
1/3cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed banana (about 2 medium bananas)
1/2 cup cold Greek yogurt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, chocolate mini chips preferred

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two 3 1/4″ x 5 3/4″ mini loaf pans, or one 9″ x 5″ loaf pan.

2) Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa.

3) In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy.

4) Beat in the egg, then stir in the vanilla, banana, and yogurt.

5) Gently mix in the dry ingredients and chocolate chips until well incorporated.

6) Pour the batter into the pan(s) and bake for 45 to 60 minutes (bake for the shorter time for two mini loaves and the longer time for the larger loaf), until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

7) Remove the bread(s) from the oven, and allow to rest in the pan(s) for 10 minutes. Turn the bread(s) out onto a rack to cool completely.