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
