Easy Dark Chocolate Marbled Banana Bread (GF) (DF)

Staring at yet another bunch of bananas too ripe to eat, I googled banana bread. What? Chocolate and bananas in an easy recipe? By one of my trusted recipe sources? This one by Smitten Kitchen did not disappoint.

It was so good, I actually bought ripe bananas to make it again and freeze. Just as good as the original when defrosted and reheated, the bread was a welcome addition to an early morning committee meeting served with butter and/or cardamom cocoa frosting leftover from the Valentine's Day Moroccan French Brownies.

Don't hold back. Gabrielle Hamilton in her memoir Blood, Bones and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef said that two fats are always better than one. You're welcome.

My Paleo Marin: 5 Persimmons*

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (Note: Substitute earth balance vegan buttery sticks for dairy free)

3-4 large ripe bananas, mashed in a bowl with a potato masher, pastry cutter, or fork, leaving some minor lumps of banana
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 large egg, beaten lightly with a fork
1 cup gluten-free flour, preferably Cup4Cup Multipurpose Gluten-free Flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup gluten-free flour, preferably Cup4Cup Multipurpose Gluten-free Flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder (sifted if lumpy), preferably Ghirardelli Premium 100% Cocoa Unsweetened 
3/4 cup chocolate chips, preferably Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. (Note: my old gas oven bakes better at 375 degrees F so adjust accordingly for your oven.)

1. Melt the butter in a medium-sized pot over low heat. Remove from heat and add in the mashed bananas; beat with a wooden spoon until mostly smooth. Whisk in the brown sugar, vanilla, baking soda, salt, and egg until thoroughly combined. Add 1 cup of flour, stirring just until it is mixed in.

2. Pour half of the batter into a second bowl (you can estimate it). Into one bowl, stir in the cocoa powder and chocolate chips. Into the other bowl, stir in the ground cinnamon and additional 1/4 cup of flour.

3. Place one dollop of the chocolate batter (about 1/3 cup) in the middle of the bread pan. Add a dollop of the cinnamon batter on both sides of the chocolate. On the next layer, place one dollop of the cinnamon batter in the middle and add a dollop of chocolate batter on either side. Alternate the dark and light batter in layers until it is all used up. Take a flat knife or offset spatula and smooth out the batter to the edges; then make 2 - 3 figure 8's in the batter. Don't overmix.

4. Bake 50-65 minutes, until a tester comes out batter free when placed in the center of the bread. Allow to cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and turn the bread out of the pan to rest on the wire rack until cooled off. Serve warm or at room temperature. If previously frozen, thaw completely on a wire rack and reheat in a 350 degree F oven for about 15 minutes.

To serve, slice and offer with room-temperature butter and/or frosting from the Moroccan French Brownie with Cardamom Cocoa Frosting recipe, if desired.

Store at room temperature wrapped in foil for about 4 days, or freeze in plastic wrap and foil to serve later.

#bananas #chocolate #bread #snacks #breakfast #lowsugar #glutenfree #chocolateswirl #paleoinspired

*My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.