Everyone has a favourite recipe for banana bread. This Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with Crunchy Topping is a variation that you will enjoy trying – it ticks all the boxes for moistness, flavour and texture. The crunchy sugar-cinnamon topping is a flavourful addition. Although walnuts are traditionally used in this loaf, pecans pair very well with banana. Don’t forget to toast the nuts first.

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CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD with CRUNCH TOPPING

CHEF TALK: I like to freeze mashed banana in 1-cup measurements. It makes it much simpler to prepare this easy-to-make banana bread – you can have the mixture prepared in about five minutes. Banana bread typically takes over one hour to bake in a large loaf pan. Another tip is to bake the quick bread in mini loaf pans. One banana loaf recipe will yield four mini loaves: one to share over a cup of tea, one to give away to your favourite neighbour and two loaves for the freezer. Note the dairy and gluten-free alternatives in the recipe ingredients.

Yield: 4 mini loaf pans (5.5” x 3” x 2” high) or 1 large loaf (9” x 5”)

INGREDIENTS:

Wet Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• 1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 3 medium bananas)
• ¼ cup milk or dairy alternative
• 1/3 cup butter or coconut oil, melted

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour or gluten-free flour blend (I use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour)
• ½ cup granulated sugar or brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips (8 oz.)
• ½ cup toasted pecans or walnuts, chopped

Topping:

• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

METHOD:

1. Heat the oven to 350^oF (325^oF if using convection setting).
2. Prepare the pans by spraying with pan spray and coating with flour. Tap out the excess flour. Place the mini loaf pans on a baking sheet.
3. In a medium-size bowl, stir together the wet ingredients until well blended.
4. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
5. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring just until moistened. CHEF TIP: Overmixing of a quick bread batter could cause the baking powder to go flat. In addition, the loaf will be tough rather than light in texture. A light hand at mixing is required.
6. Stir in the chocolate chips and the toasted nuts.
7. Portion the banana bread batter into the prepared pans. For the mini loaves, use a scale to weigh out 300 g batter/10.5 oz. into each mini loaf pan or portion the batter evenly between the four pans.
8. Sprinkle a little of the topping over the top of each of the four mini loaf pans. CHEF TIP: Spray a knife or plastic bench knife with pan spray and insert it into the center of the cake as shown in the photograph. This helps the dense batter bake evenly and creates a natural break in the center of the loaf.
9. Bake the mini loaves for 30 minutes. Test the banana bread for doneness by inserting a wooden pick into the center of the loaf – it should come out clean. NOTE: If you are making one large loaf, bake the banana bread for 60 to 70 minutes. Check for doneness as outlined above. Cool the banana bread in their pans for five minutes then remove them to continue cooling on a rack. For best results, store up to one day at room temperature, otherwise, freeze to maintain moisture and freshness. Enjoy!

Here is your visual step-by-step in photographs CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD with CRUNCH TOPPING :

 

You Might Also Enjoy These Urb’n’Spice Baking recipes:

Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins

Best Ever Banana Muffins

The Ultimate Breakfast Pastry – Bostock

LEARNING TIPS:  

Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

• Preparing Your Pans
• Vanilla Extract
• Oven Temperature Accuracy
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If you try my recipe for Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with Crunchy Topping, please leave me a comment below with your feedback.

You can find me on social media (see links below) – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy! 

 

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urbnspice Chef

 

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