I CANNOT STOP eating this bread. I came home from work last night and immediately ate two pieces…like without even putting my purse down, standing in the middle of the kitchen. It’s that good. I am a huge sucker for banana bread, and any quickbread really..pumpkin bread, zucchini bread, you name it. I seriously can’t get enough. I developed this recipe while thinking of how to put a twist on classic banana bread with a few of my favorite flavors. Adding chocolate and coconut, you can’t go wrong. And brown butter? It gets so nutty and delicious. Plus everything is better with streusel. You have to try.
Makes one 9×5 loaf.
For the batter:
1 3/4 c. whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 medium bananas, mashed
1/3 c. milk (I used vanilla almomnd milk)
3/4 c. milk chocolate chips (tossed in 1/2 tsp. flour or cornstarch..helps them not to sink to the bottom of the pan)
coconut oil or cooking spray to grease the pan
For the streusel:
4 T. unsalted butter, melted
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. sweetened shredded coconut
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 c. whole wheat pastry flour
Preheat oven to 350℉.
Grease a 9x5x3 loaf pan with coconut oil or cooking spray. Set aside. Begin by making the brown butter. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium/high heat. Once it has completely melted, reduce to medium, and stir. Watch carefully, it can burn easily if you don’t keep your eye on it! The butter will start to bubble and get a little foamy, and develop a golden brown color with a nutty aroma. This can take several minutes, just keep stirring and make sure it doesn’t burn. You may see a little brown sediment at the bottom, and you should take it off the heat at that point. It can continue to brown after it is off the heat, so be sure to transfer it to a bowl to stop the process. Set aside to let cool.
While butter is cooling, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, once butter has cooled, combine brown butter, brown sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla, and whisk to combine until smooth. Mix in mashed bananas. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet, stirring to combine. Don’t overmix! Lastly, fold in chocolate chips that have been coated in 1/2 tsp. flour or cornstarch. Pour into prepared loaf pan.
To make the streusel, stir together butter, brown sugar, coconut, and salt to combine. Then, stir in flour until mixture is moistened and crumbly. (The crumb should be a little wet, but still dry enough to crumble). Crumble mixture over batter evenly. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until top and edges are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for at least 20 minutes in pan, then invert onto cooling rack. Let cool completely before slicing.
Enjoy!
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