APT26: Dark Chocolate-Pecan Banana Bread
For the sophisticated banana bread palate
I have always been transparent that I use the famous Fannie Farmer Banana Bread recipe as the base of my own creations.
The Original Fannie Farmer 1896 Cookbook: The Boston Cooking School
Ingredients:
- 3 ripe bananas
- 3/4 cup of sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups of flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts
Method:
Crush bananas with silver fork. Add eggs, beaten light, sugar, flour sifted with salt and soda, and nut meats. Bake 1 hour in moderately slow oven (325 F). Makes one loaf 5 x 9 inches.
HOWEVER …
This is what I did to make it this Dark Chocolate-Pecan Banana Bread masterpiece.
Ingredients:
- 5 or 6 ripe bananas
- 3/4 cup of dark brown sugar
- 2 large or extra large eggs
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp Penzey’s Cake Spice
- 2 cups of flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 to 3/4 of a bar of dark chocolate, chopped (or chips) *For this one, I used the fancy French chocolate Voisin’s Cuba Noir 78%.
Method:
- Preheat oven to 325F
- Mash the bananas, add in dark brown sugar, eggs, sea salt, vanilla extract
- Beat until blended, do not over mix
- Combine flour, baking soda, and cake spice
- Mix wet ingredients with the dry
- Add in pecans and dark chocolate
- Coat a baking dish with cooking spray, fill with mixture
- Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, check on it around 45 minutes to see if baked. Ultimately, your baking time will vary on the type and size baking container you use.
Notes:
- Of course, there are several substitutions you can make for most of these ingredients. The only one non-negotiable is the 5–6 bananas, in my opinion. The extra bananas keep it moist and add more natural sugar.
- I feel that the pecans and dark chocolate make this more of an “adult” type of banana bread. It’s not overly sweet, so feel free to add more sugar if that suits your palate.
