RECIPE // Stuffed Banana Bread

Fresh-baked banana bread stuffed with toasted walnuts tossed in rich chocolate.

Whenever we see bananas starting to get a little soft in the fruit bowl I get excited, because it’s the perfect excuse to make banana bread!  This is my favorite ever banana bread recipe.  It is crispy on the outside, and soft and moist on the inside.  You would never guess that half the flour in this sinful-tasting treat is whole wheat, or that it is sweetened mostly by bananas.  It contains only half a cup of sugar, but it tastes as sweet as a cupcake.

As general rule, I’ve found that you can pretty much trade out half of the white flour in almost any recipe for whole wheat flour without affecting the taste.  Sometimes you can even get away with two thirds.  Beyond that, most baked goods will start tasting more like wholesome snacks and less like treats (resulting in people like myself seeking out less healthy options to satisfy their cravings!).

I recommend making two batches – one with nuts and one without – as there are always those who like nuts in their baked goods and others who prefer them without (at least that’s how it is in my family! I am in the nut-loving camp).  Either way be sure to make two, as these delicious loaves tend to go very quickly.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

3/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1t Baking Soda

1t Baking Powder

Pinch Salt

1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips (I use Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet)

1 Cup Chopped Walnuts

1/2 Cup (1 stick) Room Temperature Butter

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

2 Large Eggs

1.5 Cups Mashed Ripe Bananas (the browner they are, the sweeter the banana bread)

2T Lemon Juice

1.5t Vanilla

Demerara Sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Chop and toast walnuts in a pan in the preheating oven.

2. Place chocolate chips in a small bowl and add hot nuts, tossing to coat.

3. Sift flours, baking soda+powder, and salt together in a medium-sized bowl.

4. Beat butter until fluffy in a large bowl.  Add sugar and beat well until blended.  Beat in eggs one at a time.  Beat in mashed bananas, lemon juice, and vanilla.  Lastly, beat in flour mixture.

5. Spoon 1 third of the batter into a buttered, floured loaf pan, then sprinkle with half of the chocolate nut mixture.  Repeat, then cover with remaining batter.

6. Run knife through batter in a zigzag pattern and sprinkle with demerara sugar.

7. Bake bread until tester comes out clean, about 1 hour and 5 minutes.  Turn out onto rack and cool.

This loaf goes fast, so make double the recipe if you want it to last!