Author Notes
This is an even more decadent version of my usual banana bread recipe, which involves lots of overripe bananas--the riper and blacker, the better. (Seriously. They can't be too ripe.) Add a boatload of cocoa powder and some chopped dark chocolate, and you have a serious indulgence. —ieatthepeach
Ingredients
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1 cup
all-purpose flour
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1/2 cup
natural (unsweetened) cocoa powder
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1 teaspoon
baking soda
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1/4 teaspoon
salt
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5
extremely ripe bananas, peeled
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3/4 cup
brown sugar
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1/4 cup
vegetable oil or light olive oil
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1
large egg
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1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
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1
(3.5 oz) dark chocolate bar, chopped
Directions
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Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease and flour a 9×5 loaf pan, or line the pan with parchment paper. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
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Place bananas in a large mixing bowl, and use a potato masher or fork to mash into a chunky paste. Add honey or maple syrup, oil, egg, and vanilla, and mix until combined but still chunky. Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined–a few streaks of flour are fine. Fold in chopped chocolate.
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Transfer batter to the prepared loaf pan, and even out the top. Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and transfer pan to a cooling rack. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto the rack to finish cooling. Slice and serve just warm or at room temperature.
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To store leftover banana bread, wrap the loaf or individual slices in a layer of plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil. Wrapped this way, the bread will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
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