Author Notes
I've dog-earred Molly Wizenberg's recipe for years now and just baked it last week. I hope you can agree with me that you can never be short of banana bread recipes in your arsenal.
This stands out from other banana breads in its addition of ginger. Crystallized ginger. Chopped bits of the spicy root popping in each bite, its sharpness mellowed by bittersweet chocolate. I adapted it slightly by replacing some of the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour, favoring it's nuttiness.
I urge you, with a little less anger than my mom used, to go use up that pile of freckled and mushy fruit, still conjoined by their wrinkly stem, its funk permeating all corners of the kitchen. Overripe bananas begged to be married with chocolate and ginger, and promptly introduced to your friends. —janey
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Ingredients
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6 tablespoons
butter, unsalted
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1 1/2 cups
all-purpose flour, unbleached
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1/2 cup
whole wheat flour
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3/4 cup
white sugar
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3/4 teaspoon
baking soda
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1/2 teaspoon
salt
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3/4 cup
semisweet chocolate chips
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1/3 cup
finely chopped crystallized ginger
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2
large eggs
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3
large ripe bananas, mashed
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1/4 cup
well-stirred whole-milk plain yogurt
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1 teaspoon
pure vanilla extract
Directions
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Set a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 350°F. Grease a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan or an 8-inch round cake pan with cooking spray or butter.
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Melt the butter on the stove or in a microwave and set aside to cool slightly.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the chocolate chips and crystallized ginger and whisk well to combine. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a fork. Add the mashed banana, yogurt, melted butter, and vanilla and stir to mix well. Pour the banana mixture into the dry ingredients, and stir gently with a rubber spatula, scraping down the sides as needed, until just combined. Do not overmix. The batter with be thick and somewhat lumpy, just make sure all the flour has been incorporated. Scrape the batter into the loaf pan and smooth the top.
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Bake into the loaf is a deep shade of golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 minutes to an hour. If the loaf seems to be browning too quickly, tent with foil.
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Cool the loaf in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Then tip out onto the rack, and let it cool completely before slicing. The loaf freezes well wrapped in plastic wrap and again in foil to protect from freezer burn.
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