What is the one song that, no matter what, you will listen to it until the very end? It just hit me that I’ll do that to my all time favorite Michael Jackson song, “Wanna Be Starting Something”. I didn’t realize it until the other day when I was coming back from lunch and it was playing on the radio in my car. I sat there and listened, sang and danced (all in the driver’s seat) until the song finished. So then I thought, “Gosh Joy, could you really not just simply get out of the car?” I thought back to other times when it was on and I stayed glued to the radio until the song was over. It’s not like I was listening to MYSELF, it’s not MY song that I recorded and I’m just awe-struck at the fact that they’re playing MY song. I think it’s just the beat. Such a great song to get you going, it makes me happy.
It gets worse. There is a car commercial, I believe it’s a car commercial but the song just stays in my head, just one teeny tiny verse. It’s a couple driving and they each sing along with a song that plays on the radio. But when the guy sings, he sings the most goofy song and all he says is “Rocky Mountain hiiiiigh, Rocky-Rocky-Mountain hiii-iiii-iiiigh” and I just crack up and now I cant get that verse out of my head!! UGH!
Well anyway, another weekend has come and gone. I’ve been quite busy in the kitchen so I’ll be shooting post out at least weekly. This blogging thing is a little time-consuming but I do enjoy it. Sometimes while I’m at work my mind is just flooded with ideas of things to make. Then I’ll go buy whatever it is that I may need to make one of the things that the wheel stops on lol. Most of the time I end up making something entirely different. Yesterday I noticed that last week must not have been a good week for banana eating here at the West household. There were THREE beautifully, spotted, ready to be baked bananas! Now if you read some of my older post, I do not waste bananas…huh-uh…no…never…aint gonna happen. I’ll find something to make with them. All that luscious banananess going to waste! OH! The thought!
I didn’t want the banana/peanut butter combo. I thought about a hummingbird cake but I just didn’t want to put in the extra effort with icing and all that…toasting nuts…nah, later. I wanted something more along a bundt cake or loaf cake. Something easy with mimimal effort but great results. Alas, yes, a loaf cake is what I want! I found a banana loaf cake recipe but I tweaked it to make it a little heavier. I wanted something that would go good with a cup of coffee. Brothers and sisters let me tell you, sometimes it pays to follow your gut instinct. Dont be afraid to change things up. I’ve learned that if it messes up and it doesn’t turn out like you expected…just dont do it that way again! Easy as that. BUT when you get results BEYOND what you expected…SHARE!
So without further delay (mostly because I cant wait to go get a slice and a bowl of vanilla frozen yogurt for my Sunday evening treat) I’d like to share with you my, Double Chocolate Banana Loaf Bread! (I can eat frozen yogurt with loaf BREAD cant I?) I hope you enjoy!
Double Chocolate Banana Loaf Bread
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour + 1 tablespoon
1/4 cup Dutch cocoa powder
1 tablespoon of espresso powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick of softened butter
1 cup of sugar
2 large eggs room temperature
3 medium bananas mashed (very spotted= very flavorful)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 9 x 5 loaf pan. (I also cut a piece of parchment paper to help when time to lift the bread out of the pan.)
Toss the chocolate chips in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of the flour.
Sift together the dry ingredients, remaining 1 1/4 cup of flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda and salt.
Cream the butter until creamy, add the sugar and beat well on high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Decrease the speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, beating just until the yolk is no longer visible. Add the bananas and the vanilla. Add the flour mixture in thirds. Do not overmix, just mix until the flour is fully incorporated.
Fold in the chocolate chips and pour the batter into the loaf pan. Smooth the batter out.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. Use a wooden skewer or a toothpick to test for doneness. My bread was baked perfectly after one hour. Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove and let the bread cool completely.
*Personal Notes:
I keep wooden shish kabob skewers to use for cake testing. They are long enough to go deep into tall cakes such as bundts or loaf pans.
My cake is darker because I added a tablespoon of black cocoa just for my own curiosity. It does give the cake a deeper chocolate flavor but I decided to add that on a whim as I was reaching for my Dutch cocoa powder.
I like to really mash my bananas. I don’t particularly care for bits of banana in my baked goods. I just want the flavor.
JWest Pastries Blog 