Sunday, August 26, 2007

Serve It Warm With Butter

Warm Slices of Chocolate Banana Blueberry Bread

I've been making this quick bread for probably around five or six years. I picked up the recipe from a co-worker who's husband thought it was too chocolate-ly, so she brought the bread to the office and shared! A lover of all things chocolate, I break out this recipe whenever the bananas on my counter threaten to go bad. This time around, I just happened to have a pint of plump juicy blueberries on hand just begging for attention.

In Steel Magnolias Clairee Belcher asks Truvy Jones for her recipe for Cuppa, Cuppa, Cuppa. Clairee responds after hearing the ingredients with, 'sounds awfully rich'. Truvy says, 'it is, so I serve it over ice cream to cut the sweetness'. This chocolate banana blueberry bread, it's rich, so I serve it warm with butter, you know, to cut the richness!

The recipe calls for a cup of mini chocolate chips, which I don't keep on hand. I use Scharffen Berger bars in 62% Cacao Semisweet and 70% Cacao Bittersweet for my 'everyday' baking. For this bread, I chopped up just over a 1/2 cup of a 62% cacao bar.

I prefer making mini loaves, which make a perfect snack! I wrap the cute little loaves in plastic wrap. By the next morning the powdered sugar has soaked in and the bread is moist and the flavors of fruit and chocolate have become one with each other!

Next time you've got a few bananas on the counter turning brown, don't throw them out, instead, make luscious little loaves of chocolate banana blueberry bread. I promise, you won't be sorry.

Chocolate Banana Bread (With Blueberries)

2 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/3 Cup Droste's Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 1/4 Cups Sugar
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
3 Large Eggs
1 Heaping Cup Mashed Ripe Bananas (About 3)
1 Cup Fresh Blueberries
1 Cup Mini-Chocolate Chips or Chopped Chocolate

Note: If you want to make this without the blueberries, use 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas.

Preheat oven to 325.

Generously grease and dust loaf pans with cocoa powder.

Stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In large bowl, at medium speed, beat sugar, oil, and eggs until well blended. Add bananas and beat until well blended.

At low speed, beat in flour mixture just until blended.

Stir in chocolate chips and blueberries.

Fill mini loaf pans 2/3 full and larger loaf pans 1/2 full. If you aren't using the Mini Petite Loaf Pan (or something similar), place the pans on a cookie sheet. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm with butter!

To store, wrap in plastic wrap.

Note: The recipe makes enough batter for six mini loaf pans and three 6 x 3 x 2 foil pans OR thirteen mini loaf's using this Mini Petite Loaf Pan.

4 comments:

Henny Penny said...

Yum! Sounds delish!

Henny Penny said...

http://anonymouscommunist.com/blog/2007/08/31/paintin-the-town-brown/

Leighann of Multi-Minding Mom said...

Have you used the recipe for muffins? Or is it too dense? Looks fabulous!

monkey said...

leeanthro - Thanks for stopping by!! I think this recipe would make excellent muffins. The Mini Petite Loaf Pan I usually use makes little loafs about 3" x 1 1/2" x 2" (rough guess). If it weren't for this pan, I think I would have already turning these into muffins! I'm guessing it would make around 26 - 28 muffins. Let me know if you give it a try!