banana chocolate nut bread

does anyone make banana bread because they actually want to?? or is it because they innocently forget about those last three bananas on the bunch until it's too late?

i won't point any fingers ... but here's a banana nut bread i made tonight. and because everything tastes better with chocolate, i threw in a handful of chocolate chips as well.

banana chocolate nut bread: makes two 9x5 loaves
adapted from martha's baking handbook (2005, p. 49)

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
2 tb vanilla
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup (about 4 oz) walnuts, toasted and finely chopped
1/2 cup buttermilk
non-stick cooking spray

1. preheat oven to 350F. coat loaf pans with cooking spray. in large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2. in bowl of mixer with paddle attachment, beat eggs, sugar, and vegetable oil on medium-low speed until combined. beat in flour mixture. add vanilla, banana, coconut, nuts, and buttermilk and beat just to combine.

3. divide batter evenly between pans. bake, rotating halfway through, until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 60 - 65 minutes. transfer to wire rack and let cool 10 minutes. remove loaves from pan and let cool completely.



if you find yourselves with even more ripe bananas, check out these two posts as well: classic banana bread and banana cake (from david lebovitz).