Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread AND a Giveaway **Giveaway Closed – Winner Announced**

by Pam on November 1, 2012

I had very ripe bananas to use up so I went in search of a fun new banana bread recipe to try out.  I adapted a recipe from Alida’s Kitchen^[1] that looked too incredible to resist.  It made my house smell incredible while it baked and it turned out moist, beautiful, and so delicious.  My kids thought it was the BEST banana bread ever & gobbled up the whole loaf within two days.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Combine the flours, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat the sugars and oil with a mixer until creamy and smooth.  Add the mashed banana, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla then beat until blended.  Gently fold the flour mixture into the banana mixture and mix batter until just combined.

Place chocolate chips in a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30-40 seconds or until almost melted.  Stir until smooth (cook for a few more seconds if it’s not completely melted).

Add 1 cup batter to the chocolate, stirring until well combined. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan, alternating between plain batter and chocolate batter.  Swirl batters together using a knife.  Place additional chocolate chips on top, if desired.

Bake for 70 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes in pan before removing from pan to wire rack to cool completely. Slice and serve.  Enjoy.

GIVEAWAY – **Giveaway Closed – Winner Announced**

Spicy Aprons^[2] is giving one of my readers an apron of their choice (valued at $29.99).  These aprons are beautiful, really well made, and would be the perfect gift for anyone.   Make sure you check out the Spicy Apron’s Etsy page^[3] to see all of the aprons. All you have to do to enter this giveaway is comment on this post and tell me which apron from her site is your favorite. GOOD LUCK!!!

Bonus Entries:

The giveaway is open until Sunday, November 4, 2012 @ 7:30 p.m. This giveaway is only open to USA  and Canada residents. Be sure to include an e-mail address with your comment(s). Winner will be chosen randomly and announced on Sunday night. I will email the winner and if the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. Product will be shipped directly to the winner by Spicy Aprons.

If you want to purchase an apron, my readers will receive free shipping if you mention the coupon code free4u when ordering

Print^[4]

Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

Yield: 8-10

Prep Time: 15 min.

Cook Time: 70-75 min.

Total Time: 90 min.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (3 bananas)
2 eggs
1/3 cup low fat buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray
Additional chocolate chips, for topping (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Combine the flours, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat the sugars and oil with a mixer until creamy and smooth. Add the mashed banana, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla then beat until blended. Gently fold the flour mixture into the banana mixture and mix batter until just combined.

Place chocolate chips in a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30-40 seconds or until almost melted. Stir until smooth (cook for a few more seconds if it’s not completely melted).

Add 1 cup batter to the chocolate, stirring until well combined. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan, alternating between plain batter and chocolate batter. Swirl batters together using a knife. Place additional chocolate chips on top, if desired.

Bake for 70 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan before removing from pan to wire rack to cool completely. Slice and serve. Enjoy.

Adapted recipe and photos by For the Love of Cooking.net
Original recipe by Alida’s Kitchen

References

1. ^{^} Alida’s Kitchen (www.alidaskitchen.com)
2. ^{^} Spicy Aprons (www.etsy.com)
3. ^{^} Spicy Apron’s Etsy page (www.etsy.com)
4. ^{^} Print Recipe (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)