Thursday, May 8, 2008

Black-and-White Banana Loaf


After making the other banana bread, I had exactly 1 1/2 mushy bananas left and said to myself- if I can find a recipe that specifically calls for 1 1/2 mashed bananas, I will make it. Dorie never fails. This recipe is in her cake section of Baking from my home to yours and we had a taste test comparison since it was exactly like the chocolate banana bread I made the day before. I love the lemon in this loaf. It is delicious!
Black-and-White Banana Loaf
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (I used ground)
1 1/2 ripe bananas, peeled
squirt of fresh lemon juice
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1 Tbls dark rum (I used 1/2 tsp rum extract or flavoring)
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (i used semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1 stick + 2 Tbls unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Butter a 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.
In a small bowl, mash the bananas with the lemon juice and zest, then stir in the rum.
Melt the chocolate and 2 Tbls butter together in a microwave oven.
Working with a stand or hand mixer, in a large bowl, beat the remaining stick of butter at medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the sugars and beat for another 2 to 3 minutes, until light and smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. The batter will look curdled, and it will continue to look curdled as you add ingredients. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the flour mixture, mixing only until it is just incorporated. With the mixer running, pour in the milk, and when it is blended, add the remaining dry ingredients. Scrape down the bowl and mix in the mashed bananas. The batter will look even lumpier.
Pour a little less than half the batter into the bowl with the melted chocolate and stir to blend. Drop alternating spoonfuls of both batters into the prepared pan, then, using a table knife, swirl the batters together, taking care not to over do it.
Bake for 1 hour and 20 to 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Check after 30 minutes and if the cake starts to brown too much, cover it loosely with a foil tent. Transfer te cake to a cooling rack and let it rest for about 15 minutes before unmolding, then cool the cake to room temperature right side up on the rack.

1 comments:

Teanna DiMicco said...

We get to make this soon on TWD! Yours looks fantastic!