Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Friday is here at last! Where did this week go? Last week I made chocolate chip banana bread. Although it's been all eaten this picture is all that remains of the two loaves I made. I used three bananas and used dark brown sugar. I really wish I had used demerara sugar, that is what I prefer. Unfortunately I had none. I used dark brown sugar because I wanted to see what the difference in taste would be between white sugar and brown sugar. I noticed that by using the dark brown sugar the loaf wasn't as sweet and by having the mini chocolate chips it made up for it. I enjoyed the "less sugary" taste and prefer to make my loaves without white sugar. I didn't pack the the dark brown sugar into the measuring cup. I just poured and let it be in it's natural fluffy, tousled state. You may also want to add a cup of chopped nuts, if desired. I didn't. Here is my recipe:

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

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1 1/4 cups of dark brown/demerara sugar *loosely measured, no packing down*

1/2 cup soften butter or margarine

2 large eggs

3-4 very ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 milk or soy milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla

2 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon of salt

3/4 cup of mini chocolate chip

Pre heat oven to 350º. Grease the bottoms to two loaf tins. Fully line with parchment paper.

First mix the flour, baking soda and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.

Mix the sugar and butter in a large bowl. Stir in the eggs until blended. Add bananas, milk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Then add the flour, baking soda and salt mixture just until moist. Stir in the chocolate chips. Add more chocolate chips if you feel the need to. I threw another handful in just for good luck!

Divide batter between the two pans. Bake 8 inch loaves for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Insert a toothpick into the centre to see if it comes out clean. Because my ovens temperature might be running a bit hotter I checked the loaves after 30 minutes and gave them another 15 minutes and they were done. You could also use one 9 inch loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour or 1 hour and 15 minutes. Still checking after 30 minutes. Again checking with a toothpick.

After you have taken the loaves or loaf out of the oven, let it rest for about 10 minutes. I know this is very hard to do because the smell of freshly baked bread is so intoxicating you will want to dive right in. When the 10 minutes are up. Remove from pans and let cool further on wire racks, letting them cool completely. Sheer torture! If you are like me, you can't wait and you have to slice a nice semi warm piece. Then go ahead! Enjoy! -JW