Chocolate-Banana Marble Bread

By -

Ingredients
2 large or 3 medium very ripe bananas, at room temprature
1/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3 Tbsp. boiling water, plus more if needed
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 350 and position oven rack in center. Lightly coat the loaf pan with melted butter and line it with parchment paper that extends 1 inch beyond the long edge of both sides of the pan. Peel the bananas and put them in the bowl of the food processor. Process to a smooth puree. (Alternately, mash them in a bowl using a fork.) Measure out 1 cup of the puree and transfer it to a small bowl, discarding the rest of the puree or saving it for another use. Add the buttermilk and vanilla and whisk just until blended. Set aside.

Mix together flour, bs and bp in a medium bowl. Whisk to blend well. Set aside. Place the cocoa powder in the small bowl. Pour the boiling water over the cocoa and stir until it forms a smooth paste - it should run thickly off the spoon. If it is too thick, add another tbsp. of boiling water and stir again. Set aside.

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of the stand mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until the butter is very light, almost white in colour, 4 to  mins. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Turn the mixer to medium speed and add the eggs, 1 tbsp. at a time, completely blending in each addition before adding the next. About halfway through the eggs, turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl with the spatula and continue with the rest. Scrape bowl again.

With the mixer running on the lowest speed, add one-third of the flour mixture. Just as it is barely blended and you can still see a few patches of flour, add half the banana mixture. Repeat with the remaining flour and banana mixtures ending with the flour. Scrape down the bowl and finish blending the batter by hand.

Transfer half of the batter to the second medium bowl. Add the cocoa paste and, using the rubber spatula, gently but thoroughly blend it into the batter.

Drop alternating spoonfuls of dark and light batterss into the prepared pan, then marbelize by using a spoon to gently turn the batter over in 3 placeds down the length of the pan.



Bake the banana bread for 55 to 65 minutes, until firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. When cool, remove from the pan, peel off the parchment paper and cut slices by sawing gently with a serrated knife.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pizza Dough

By -
2 (1/4-ounce) packages active dry yeast 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, divided, plus additional for dusting 2 cups warm water (105–115°F), divided 2 teaspoons salt MAKE DOUGH: Whisk together yeast, 2 Tbsp flour, and 1/2 cup warm water in a measuring cup and let stand until mixture develops a creamy foam, about 10 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, discard and start over with new yeast.) Stir together salt and 3 cups flour in a large bowl. Add yeast mixture and remaining 1 1/2 cups warm water and stir until smooth, then stir in 1 cup more flour. If dough sticks to your fingers, stir in just enough flour (up to 3/4 cup), a little at a time, to make dough just come away from side of bowl. (This dough may be wetter than other pizza doughs you have made.) Knead dough on a lightly floured surface with floured hands, lightly reflouring work surface and your hands when dough becomes too sticky, until dough is smooth, soft, and elastic, about 10 minutes. Divide dough i...
Read more

"Light" Caesar Salad

By -
I'm not sure where the "light" comes from. But this was a really good classic Caesar dressing. We even had to resort to (haha) using powdered parmesan from the store and it was still classically good. 1/4   cup   (60 mL)  grated  Parmesan cheese 1/4   cup   (60 mL)  light mayonnaise 2   tbsp   (30 mL)  white wine vinegar 1   tbsp   (15 mL)  extra virgin olive oil 1   tbsp   (15 mL)  water 1   tbsp   (15 mL)  Dijon mustard 1   tsp   (5 mL)  Worcestershire sauce 1   clove garlic , minced 1   pinch   salt 1   pinch   pepper 8   cups   (2 L)  romaine lettuce , torn, 1 small head 1   cup   (250 mL)  prepared croutons 2   tbsp   (30 mL)  cooked  bacon , crumbled In jar, shake together Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, vinegar, oil, water, mustard, Worcestershire sauce...
Read more