Description
This Chocolate Marble Banana Bread combines the moist sweetness of ripe bananas with rich chocolate swirls for a delightful twist on classic banana bread. Perfectly tender and elegantly marbled, this loaf offers a delicious treat for breakfast, snack, or dessert.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2-3 medium bananas)
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Mixture
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Pan: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan to ensure the bread doesn’t stick after baking.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. This ensures even distribution of leavening and seasoning throughout the batter.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, creating a smooth base for the batter.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Beat in the eggs one at a time to incorporate air, followed by the mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla extract, blending until combined to ensure moisture and flavor.
- Combine Dry and Wet Ingredients: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring just until combined to avoid overmixing which can make the bread dense.
- Divide and Flavor Batter: Divide the batter evenly in half. Fold the unsweetened cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate chips into one half to create the chocolate batter.
- Create Marble Effect: Spoon alternating dollops of the plain banana batter and chocolate batter into the prepared loaf pan. Use a knife to swirl the two batters together gently, creating a marbled effect.
- Bake: Bake the batter for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, indicating the bread is fully cooked.
- Cool: Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely, which prevents sogginess and helps slicing.
Notes
- Use ripe bananas with brown spots for the best flavor and sweetness.
- Do not overmix the batter once the dry ingredients are added to keep the bread tender.
- Check doneness with a toothpick starting at 50 minutes to avoid overbaking.
- For extra moistness, substitute yogurt for sour cream if desired.
- Store banana bread tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for longer storage.
