Chocolate Coconut Banana Bread
Ok. You’ve had a long week.
You came down off the sugar high from all of last week’s butterscotch cookies. You sobered up after Saturday’s wine tasting party and Sunday’s Mad Men premiere.
Then Monday came barging in, and you spent the next few days losing your mind finishing up next month’s issue.
You somehow made it through the phone conversation that your mom started out by saying, “OK……….. I joined facebook…”
There was not enough coffee to prepare for any of this.
Now you need something chocolatey. And warm, because the weather is still kinda crappy.
Oh wait, what? That was just my week? Really?
Well, maybe you just want something warm and chocolatey anyway.
And maybe you happen to have some overripe bananas. Maybe… you think that chocolate and coconut and bananas sounds like a really good idea. I know I do. So I lined those words up, threw “bread” at the end, and here we are.
For some reason though, when I thought of the type of banana bread I usually make (read: tons of butter, sugar, & belt loosening indulgence) the idea of adding chocolate and coconut seemed a bit overwhelming. I wanted something warm and chocolatey – not to collapse in a food coma on my kitchen floor.
So I went a little easy on the sugar, swapped out the butter for (less) vegetable oil, and even added some low-fat greek yogurt (WHAT).
The result is just barely sweet; it almost feels like banana bread for grown-ups… or at least I would’ve thought so when I was a kid. One of the few things I hated was shredded coconut, and (of course) I preferred milk chocolate. What a silly child I was.
Chocolate Coconut Banana Bread
If you're impatient (like me) and cut the bread while it's warm, you'll have a little crumbling action. I can deal with crumbs if it means eating this that much sooner, but if you're able to distract yourself long enough to let it cool, you'll be rewarded with clean slices.
Ingredients
- butter, for greasing pan
- 4 ounces semisweet chocolate
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 medium overripe bananas, mashed (about 3/4 cup)
- 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x5x3 pan. Finely chop the chocolate and place in a small bowl set over a pot of shallow, barely simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is melted, set aside to cool slightly.
- In a medium bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside. In a mixer, beat the eggs and sugar on medium speed until pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Add the yogurt, oil, and bananas; mix until well combined.
- With the mixer running on low, drizzle in the chocolate (I put mine in the cup used to measure the oil; pours more cleanly and easily). Scrape the sides & bottom of the bowl with a spatula to make sure everything is thoroughly combined. With the mixer running on low, slowly add the flour until it's just incorporated. Fold in the coconut with a spatula.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread out evenly. Sprinkle with the turbinado sugar and bake 60-70 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes in the pan, then run a knife along the edges and carefully turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Yields: 1 loaf
PrintPosted in: Bread, Breakfast, Fall, Vegetarian, Winter
8 Responses to “Chocolate Coconut Banana Bread”
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Hey! Thanks for stopping by Kitchenette. I'm Brittany, a graphic designer who's hopelessly addicted to food, cooking, and talking your ear off about both of them.
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This looks fantastic! And since I like my desserts a little less sweet (weird, I know), I can’t wait to try this recipe. Wonder how much of an impact using unsweetened shredded coconut would be (since that’s what I have around).
Some of the sweetness in this is definitely coming from the coconut, so you might want to bump up the sugar a tiny bit if you’re using unsweetened. But if you want it way on the barely sweet side of things, you might like it better with unsweetened!
Mmmm, this sounds wonderful Britt! Can’t wait to try it!
This chocolate coconut banana bread sounds like a wonderful combination of flavor! It looks super yummy too.
This sounds so good! And I love your photos!
Hi Ms. Kitchenette!
I saw this recipe last week somewhere and kept clicking on it whenever I was procrastinating in front of the computer….After some obsessive rumination, I finally decided to make a knock-off cousin of your recipe…. the final result was good and I think you would be into it so i am sharing and also thanking you for the inspiration!
I had a piece of cardamom-infused chocolate that was way too intense to eat, so I melted that a bit of that down with some dark chocolate chips.
I toasted the coconut and left out the banana & used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil.
I used half whole wheat flour and half ground oatmeal/oatmeal flour instead of white flour. Gave it a nutty, earthy, sweet taste that really worked.
Everything else I did the same…
I baked in mini-muffin tins (mostly because I don’t have a loaf pan!)
The taste and texture is so so so good…so thank you!! I look forward to more of your posts!
Margo
This sounds amazing Margo!! Cardamom, coconut, and chocolate… YUM! I thought about toasting the coconut too, I bet that worked wonderfully with the wheat and oatmeal flours. Thanks so much for sharing.
I love love love banana bread, and usually have to end up either buying ridiculous amounts of bananas or hiding some so they get ripe enough for me to make it, but it’s always so worth it. I’m always down to try a new banana bread recipe, so I’ll be giving this one a spin. And one with chocolate and coconut, two of my other favorite things? You can be sure to sign me up.