May 2009

Banana Bread with Chocolate and Candied Ginger

BANANA BREAD WITH CHOCOLATE AND CANDIED GINGER

Molly Wizenberg, creator of the blog Orangette and author of the book A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes From My Kitchen Table, has a way of elevating ordinary foods into must-make, extraordinary foods. I’ve baked lots of banana breads in my day, so it must have been the power of Molly’s poetic prose and genuine enthusiasm that got me so stoked about preparing this one. Dotted with bits of crystallized ginger and shards of bittersweet chocolate, this banana bread makes for a decadent breakfast or an effective afternoon pick-me-up. [I also highly recommend Molly’s Bouchons au Thon.]

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups mashed banana (from about 3 large ripe bananas)
  • 1/4 cup well-stirred whole-milk plain yogurt (not low fat or nonfat)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Set a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a standard-sized loaf pan with cooking spray or butter.

In a small bowl, microwave butter until just melted. (Take care to do this on medium power and in short bursts; if the heat is too high, butter will sometimes splatter or explode. Or, alternately, put the butter in a heatproof bowl and melt in the preheated oven.) Set aside to cool slightly.

BANANA BREAD WITH CHOCOLATE AND CANDIED GINGER

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the chocolate chips and crystallized ginger and whisk well to combine. Set aside.

BANANA BREAD WITH CHOCOLATE AND CANDIED GINGER

In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a fork. Add the mashed banana, yogurt, melted butter, and vanilla and stir to mix well.

BANANA BREAD WITH CHOCOLATE AND CANDIED GINGER

Pour the banana mixture into the dry ingredients, and stir gently with a rubber spatula, scraping down the sides as needed, until just combined. Do not overmix. The batter will be thick and somewhat lumpy, but there should be no unincorporated flour. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top.

BANANA BREAD WITH CHOCOLATE AND CANDIED GINGER

Bake until the loaf is a deep shade of golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour. If the loaf seems to be browning too quickly, tent with aluminum foil.

Cool the loaf in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Then tip it out onto the rack, and let it cool completely before slicing.

Yields about 8 servings. [For Printable Recipe Click Here]

BANANA BREAD WITH CHOCOLATE AND CANDIED GINGER

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6 thoughts on “Banana Bread with Chocolate and Candied Ginger

  1. Looks like a winner. I love banana bread, and Iain enjoys any kind of sweet bread/cake for his breakfast. So this might save the day one morning when he’s all cranky.

  2. Love Orangette — she’s amazing! Wish her restaurant were opening in LA!

    I’d be tempted to add some peanut butter to this. Though not sure how that would gel with the ginger!

  3. Baked this version last night and snuck a still warm end piece before going to bed. The plan was to bake this for work mates – share the joy and calories. Wonderful – crunchy, melting chocolate and hints of ginger. I did notice that this recipe differs quite a bit from the one posted by Orangette. Wondering what the original version would be like.

  4. Amazing. Because of my kids I was hesitant to put in the ginger. I am going to try shredding it next time and putting it on the top. That way if they don’t like it, they can eat the bottom half. Even without the ginger it was fantastic!! I will be making this again.

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