My New Blog is Here with Chocolate Banana Bread

64 Comments | October 22, 2008 | Posted in Desserts, Sweet Bakes

Finally! It happened. I am launching my newly redesigned blog!  Thank you very much for all your encouraging comments and emails I’ve been receiving along the way! I haven’t blogged in a while and it feels great to be finally back in the blogosphere, or better,  the foodispehere.

To mark this occasion, I decided to bake something simple.  I had some ripe bananas screaming for attention and I also had a bag of chocolate chips I’d been desperately trying to hide away from my chocolate-lover 5-year-old who finds chocolate no matter where I put it.  So naturally, the choice fell on chocolate banana bread. Out of a dozen recipes I have for this delicious treat, there is one I refer to more often than others. It is Chocolate Banana Bread by Stephanie Jarowski, the owner of Joy of Baking, a wonderful web with tons of recipes for baked goodies. I adapted Stephanie’s recipe to my taste. The original recipe calls for white chocolate chips in the bread, but I used dark chocolate chips instead. Also, I used raw walnuts instead of roasted and I chose not to top the bread with brown sugar before it went in the oven. This bread is amazingly delicious - so soft and moist. I like it warm with a cup of hot tea.

If you have ripe bananas at home and would love to bake this bread but have no time at the moment, no worries, save your bananas for later use. Here’s what Stephanie suggests, “Instead of throwing them away simply slip them into a plastic bag and place them into the freezer until you have enough for baking. You can also peel and mash them, stir in 1 teaspoon lemon juice for each banana, and freeze in an airtight container or bag. They will keep about six months in the freezer.” Thank you, Stephanie, for the delicious recipe and the great advice!

CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD

Adapted from Joy of Baking

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups (245 g) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (30 g) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 cup (250 g) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 ripe bananas (approximately 1 pound / 454 g), mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (120 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (55 g) raw walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (85 g) dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Butter and flour (or spray with a non-stick vegetable spray) the bottom and sides of a 9 X 5 X 3 inch (23 X 13 X 8 cm) loaf pan. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients (flour mixture) until just combined and the batter is thick and chunky. Fold in the nuts and chocolate chips.

4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake on the middle rack of the oven until the bread has risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55-65 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool, then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. Nush Olsun! Enjoy!

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64 Comments Add your own

  • 1. Shaheen  |  October 23rd, 2008 at 1:15 am

    Gorgeous bread! Can I have a slice please? :) You know, I associate different images with different food bloggers. I’d come to you blog first a long, long time ago and seen the zebra cake. So now in my mind you’re the zebra cake blogger. Heheh Just thought I’d share this.

  • 2. Aysegul ~ Nys Delight  |  October 23rd, 2008 at 7:25 am

    Feridecim..Congratulations..Blog Looks AWESOMEEEEEE!! I love it! One thing though on my internet page the page does not fully show 3 columns. The 3rd column is on the bottom of the page. Just wanted to bring this to your attention!! Looking forward to sharing wonderful recipes and new posts…Aysegul

  • 3. Aynur H. Imecer  |  October 23rd, 2008 at 12:30 pm

    OMG! Farida, this site is amazing! I loved it specially the Azeri part! I’m proud of having such a friend.

  • 4. farida  |  October 23rd, 2008 at 1:14 pm

    Shaheen: Welcome to my new blog. Glad you like it. I like your association re zebra cake:)

    Aysegul: Thank you dear. I am glad you like the new design. Thank you for bringing the issue to my attention. You are right, looks like we do have issues viewing the blog on Explorer. It works fine on Netscape and Mozilla but not on Explorer. Trying to fix it. Cok tesekkurler!

    Aynur: Thank you! Glad you like it. And I am glad to have such a supportive friend:)

  • 5. Mona  |  October 23rd, 2008 at 2:00 pm

    The new blog design is fantastic Farida. Congratulations!

  • 6. diva  |  October 23rd, 2008 at 3:24 pm

    i love this new look!! congratulations on the new blog and this gorgeous lookin bread :) u have been missed so much, farida. it’s great to have u back..xx

  • 7. Gretchen Noelle  |  October 23rd, 2008 at 9:41 pm

    Wonderful job! Things look great! can’t wait to look around some more!!

  • 8. Peter  |  October 23rd, 2008 at 9:42 pm

    Farida, great new look, same good food…congrats and happy trails!

  • 9. Rosa  |  October 23rd, 2008 at 10:16 pm

    A great new blog and look! That cake looks fantastic!

    Cheers and have a wonderful weekend,

    Rosa

  • 10. Hélène  |  October 23rd, 2008 at 10:28 pm

    You rock, this is great. Love it.

  • 11. Arundathi  |  October 23rd, 2008 at 10:56 pm

    Love your new blog!! And a great start with the gorgeous looking bread!

  • 12. Divya Vikram  |  October 23rd, 2008 at 11:28 pm

    Congrats on your new venture..Scrumtious beautiful looking bread!

  • 13. Ivy  |  October 24th, 2008 at 12:29 am

    Farida you did a great job. Your new site looks awesome. I wish you the best of luck to achieve any goals you have set for the future. You banana bread looks delicious.

  • 14. sunita  |  October 24th, 2008 at 3:11 am

    Farida, congrats on your new site…it looks great. And it is really nice to see you back in action :-)

  • 15. nidhi  |  October 24th, 2008 at 4:09 am

    Congrats for your new blog. The cake is looking very delicious. Love the dark color of the chcolate.

  • 16. Susan/Wild Yeast  |  October 24th, 2008 at 5:48 am

    Glad to see you back! Your new design looks great, as does the banana bread.

  • 17. cooker  |  October 24th, 2008 at 9:40 am

    O Farida, your new look is so beautiful. Good job. Maybe thats why the mails were bouncing since you were switching websites. Anyway my mail must have gone to you now since it didnt bounce back today. Keep up the good work. You make a lot of people very happy & that is such a great skill & blessing.

  • 18. alexandra's kitchen  |  October 24th, 2008 at 5:02 pm

    Love the look of your new site. It is now newly bookmarked!
    Chocolate and banana anything sounds amazing.

  • 19. zarina  |  October 24th, 2008 at 8:29 pm

    Hi Farida, congrats on ur beautiful new design & blog. the choc banana bread looks so chocolatey & yummy. perfect combo.

  • 20. Swati: Sugarcraft India  |  October 24th, 2008 at 8:44 pm

    Dear Farida

    Congrats on your wonderful new blog.. It looks great…
    Missed you a lot…
    The bread looks delicious..

  • 21. Lynn  |  October 24th, 2008 at 8:54 pm

    Hi Farida, congratulations on your new and beautiful blog. Im loving it!!! :)
    The choco banana bread looks yummy too! :)

  • 22. Efthimia  |  October 25th, 2008 at 12:50 am

    The new site is beautiful! I hope it turns out as succesful as the old one. Now that I think about it, I’m SURE it will be. Kaloriziko, as we say in Greece. (That means “may it have the luckiest of fates”).

  • 23. clumbsycookie  |  October 25th, 2008 at 2:00 am

    And what a nice way to start the new blog! looks great both the site and the bread!

  • 24. dreambox  |  October 25th, 2008 at 2:22 am

    Great new look, same good food.

  • 25. Matin  |  October 25th, 2008 at 2:46 am

    Good to have you back Farida, The new site looks great:-). I use “Joy of Baking” recipes all the time, and they never let me down, this one looks great too:-)
    XX M

  • 26. George@CulinaryTravels  |  October 25th, 2008 at 4:50 am

    Great to have you back blogging Farida, the new site looks fantastic!!

  • 27. yasmeen  |  October 25th, 2008 at 4:54 am

    Sweeeeet makeover ,Farida. “Joy of baking” is one of my fav sites for baking goodies,the bread looks so delish,its breakfast time and I’m getting hungry gazing at it. I’ve a sweet award,please collect in leisure:)

  • 28. Maria  |  October 25th, 2008 at 6:35 am

    Congrats Farida & the new look is fantastic !! All the best!

    Cheers
    Maria

  • 29. RecipeGirl  |  October 25th, 2008 at 7:33 am

    Yay! What a great, new look. Welcome back :)

  • 30. Pravs  |  October 25th, 2008 at 7:29 pm

    Great looking bread ! love the pic.

  • 31. Lakshmi  |  October 26th, 2008 at 1:49 am

    Nice looking blog Farida..Congratulations! Great looking bread.

  • 32. Susan from Food Blogga  |  October 26th, 2008 at 2:05 pm

    Mmmm… this is one of my favorite kinds of bread. It’s great for breakfast, lunch, or a snack. Or all three! :)

    PS-I’m so glad you liked the chocolate pudding. And I didn’t realize you lived in LB. I used to live there too.

  • 33. My comfort food  |  October 27th, 2008 at 9:21 am

    Great cake Farida, and good job on your new website. Looks fantastic.

  • 34. farida  |  October 27th, 2008 at 12:57 pm

    FRIENDS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUCH WARM WELCOME TO MY BLOG!

    I am off to check your blogs which I haven’t done in a while, bad me.

    Cheers!

  • 35. cheritycall  |  October 28th, 2008 at 12:03 am

    How are you?, Give something for help those hungry people from Africa or India,
    I created this blog about them:
    on http://tinyurl.com/5hu74e

  • 36. snookydoodle  |  October 28th, 2008 at 1:51 pm

    your blog looks really glamourous ;-) and the banana bread delicious I bet your house smelled beautifully after baking this nice banana bread

  • 37. Avesta  |  October 28th, 2008 at 3:02 pm

    I am so glad you’re back Farida! Your new site is so pretty! I love it! I look forward to all of your beautiful pictures and recipes!!!

  • 38. Mrs Ergül  |  October 28th, 2008 at 8:35 pm

    So long abla! This cake looks fantastic! I will try this when I get some over ripe bananas ;)

    Kedine iyi bak xxoo

  • 39. Nafisa  |  October 29th, 2008 at 5:13 am

    This looks positively delicious! I have fond memories of making banana loaf when I was younger. Must try it with chocolate.

  • 40. Rosie  |  October 29th, 2008 at 5:52 am

    Hi Farida, what a beautiful site!!

    Your choc-banana cake looks amazing any chance of a slice ;D

    Rosie x

  • 41. Larissa  |  October 29th, 2008 at 7:06 am

    Love your foodie site! By the way, I spent the summer in Turkey, and have been searching for great Turkish recipes ever since, so I’m glad I discovered you!

  • 42. Amy B  |  October 29th, 2008 at 9:49 am

    Good morning, my friend! Your new blog looks amazing!!!! I’m so happy for you. What a bonus for us that it’s filled with wonderful recipes & beautiful photos.

    xoxox Amy

  • 43. farida  |  October 29th, 2008 at 9:50 am

    Thank you, once again, for your comments!

    Larissa: welcome to my blog! How great you got to see Turkiye. I am sure you have great memories about the food there. Azerbaijani and Turkish foods have a lot in common, yet are distinctive in their own way.

    In the meantime, here are four of my favorite Turkish food blogs. The first three are in English, the fourth one in Turkish in case you picked up the language there. You’ll love them!

    http://almostturkish.blogspot.com/
    http://www.jasminesrecipes.com/
    http://nysdelight.com/
    http://www.benimtariflerim.blogspot.com/

    Enjoy!

  • 44. alexander  |  October 29th, 2008 at 6:09 pm

    nice site, good looking bread!

  • 45. Gloria  |  October 29th, 2008 at 7:56 pm

    Your chocolate banana breads looks so delicious! I’ve been making banana bread for years, but never thought to make it with chocolate. :)

  • 46. We Are Never Full  |  November 3rd, 2008 at 4:52 pm

    congrats on the new design! it’s a pain in the a$$ but it’s totally worth it to have it look the way you want it! looks FABU. that chocolate banana bread looks pretty darn good too!

  • 47. Seena  |  November 7th, 2008 at 1:14 am

    Looks lovely Farida! loved the new look of your blog.
    how are things there, would check your recipes , but couldn’t comment always,
    favicon also wonderful.. :)

  • 48. ooopinionsss  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 1:22 pm

    How you think when the economic crisis will end? I wish to make statistics of independent opinions!

  • 49. Leesa  |  December 13th, 2008 at 2:58 pm

    Hi Farida!

    Thanks for stopping by my blog as it reminded me that I must stop by to say hello and check out what’s cooking on your end!! LOVEEEEE the new blog… Looks great… I’m updating you on my blogroll right after this…. Take care, Leesa

  • 50. Mrs Ergül  |  January 21st, 2009 at 8:03 am

    Merhaba abla! Just wanna tell you that I have been baking this recipe for at least 5 times ever since you posted! I love the aroma that fills my home whenever it is baking in the oven. Thanks for sharing!

    Kendine iyi bak! Optum!

  • 51. grazi  |  February 23rd, 2009 at 12:35 pm

    miammmm!!!!

  • 52. Andrea  |  August 19th, 2009 at 1:44 pm

    Hi Farida,

    I love your website and your blog! How fantastic. I lived in Salyan for 2 years with an Azerbaijani family and fell in love with so many recipes! The problem is that I don’t know how to prepare them. Every spring (around Novruz) my host mother made what I interpreted to be a spring paxlava (baklava). It was yellow and I think it had coconut and was delicious!! Does this sound familiar to you? If so, are you able to send me the recipe or post it on your blog?

    Also - I assume that you make Levengi the same regardless of using Toyug or Balig - is that correct?

    Thanks!

  • 53. Leslie Anderson  |  September 23rd, 2009 at 4:54 am

    Thanks for sharing this recipe. My little sister is about to turn 7 this October and I think I’ll give her this delicacy. Do you have more recipe?

  • 54. FARIDA  |  September 28th, 2009 at 10:44 am

    LESLIE: Thank you for stopping by. Happy B-day to your sister! Look for more recipes under the Desserts category. Hope you can find something to your taste. Thank you!

  • 55. sheba  |  November 29th, 2009 at 11:09 pm

    awesome looking bread

  • 56. Kitchen Butterfly  |  February 13th, 2010 at 2:12 pm

    This is great…..but your Zebra cake still tops…….Saying that, I ? Banana bread. And it is on my to do list for tomorrow!

  • 57. Mom’s After-School &hellip  |  March 22nd, 2010 at 8:44 pm

    [...] Farida’s Chocolate Banana Bread [...]

  • 58. Healthy Desserts  |  April 24th, 2010 at 3:04 am

    Wow !! Yet another delicious stuff :) thanks again… M loving your blogs !

  • 59. oyunoyna  |  May 7th, 2010 at 2:47 pm

    Every spring (around Novruz) my host mother made what I interpreted to be a spring paxlava (baklava).

  • 60. ExampleMag  |  September 18th, 2010 at 5:08 am

    Wow this looks so nice!!! Great cake Farida! Will definitely try to make myself.

  • 61. Chen  |  October 19th, 2010 at 2:01 pm

    Thanks for another great recipe :-)
    Can you please if you can mail me?
    Thanks,Chen.

  • 62. Tunzala  |  May 25th, 2011 at 5:00 pm

    Do you need milk for banana bread?
    Thank you

  • 63. farida  |  May 25th, 2011 at 5:01 pm

    TUNZALA - No.

  • 64. ilahi  |  June 24th, 2011 at 8:05 am

    Nice looking blog Farida..Congratulations! Great looking bread.

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