Recipe: Dark Chocolate Chip Brownie Bottom Banana Bread
ray
::03 may 2008 :: 03:44pm
Okay, this is a complete bastardization based off of a Southern Living recipe for Banana Nut Bread from Willie Monroe. My thanks to you sir for a magnificent recipe. But really, why have nuts when you can have dark chocolate? And why have just banana bread when you can mix it with brownies? So help me, if I could figure out how to bake ice cream in there, I would.
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 8oz pack of cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (1 1/4lbs of unpeeled bananas, about 4 medium)
1 cup Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
AND
1 13×9 package of brownie mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup oil
(these last three are per ingredients needed on back of brownie box)
Set your oven at 350 (but I’ve found better results at ~335-340. This is a pretty dense mix, so cooking it a tad more slowly tends to let the middle bake without burning the edges.)
BEAT butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
COMBINE flour and next three ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in bananas, chips and vanilla.
MIX brownie mix, eggs, water, and oil according to directions on box.
SPOON brownie mix into bottom of 2 greased and floured 8×4 loaf pans.
SPOON carefully (as banana mix is often denser than the brownie mix) the banana mix on top of the brownie base.
BAKE at 350 for about an hour or until long wooden pick inserted into center come out clean. You’ll want to check this at about 30 and 45 mins, shielding the top with tin foil to prevent browning. If you’re using mini-loaf pans, they’ll be done at about 34 mins.
Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes, remove from pans and cool another 30 before slicing.
NOTES: you may have a tad too much banana mixture for just two pans. Or not. I typically do this recipe split between one 8×4 and three mini-loaf pans (‘cuz I like to share). I’m considering using two 8×8 brownie mixes the next time around and spreading that across three full sized loaf pans.
oh, and you get an added sweetness by using slightly over-ripe bananas. When they've started going brown, more of the banana has converted to sugars, or so I've heard.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! With the primary right around the corner, we've got volunteers in & out of the office constantly, and this seems like a perfect snack for 'em. And for me. Ahem.
If you need to 'brown up' your bananas quickly, put them in a paper bag in the fridge. Putting an apple in the bag also helps, as apples release a hormone that makes other produce ripen much more quickly.