Chocolate Gingerbread | How Sweet It Is

Chocolate Banana Gingerbread.

November 5, 2010

Quick breads are a dangerous treat in this house.

I’m pretty darn sure that most times the bread grows legs and runs off, just like my butter. I did go out and buy more butter, by the way. Though I’m fully anticipating on finding a pound of it in between my boxes of shoes or behind the bar with the wine. If that tells you anything.

So here’s the deal. I really am not gingerbread fan. At least not true, rich, spicy gingerbread. And it’s not because I don’t like ginger. After all, I married one.

But when it comes to plain ole’ gingerbread, we just don’t mesh. So I took it upon myself to add some of my other favorite flavors. Don’t let the chocolate and banana disgust you. It is divine.

Just check out the creamy, gingery batter:

Delectable enough to eat with a spoon. If you’re into eating raw eggs, sugar, butter and molasses, that is. But you know I’m a fan of this batter since I love golden, sparkly things. So pretty that my attention span was just zapped.

If I am being honest, I wasn’t completely sure how the flavor combination would turn out. Even if it was a fail, I’m sure I would eat it any way.

Luckily, it was a giant success. Don’t you love when that happens? I judge my successes by how much Mr. How Sweet closet-eats over the sink with a diet Coke in hand when he thinks I’m not looking. I’m always looking.

Complete with a mountain of chocolate chips, this bread was perfect for killing my gingerbread craving. It had just enough spice to warm me in the crisp, autumn weather, the slightest hint of banana flavor, and just a enough chocolate to… well, let’s be honest – there can never be enough chocolate. Ever.

Chocolate Banana Gingerbread

1/4 cup butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup molasses

2 medium bananas, mashed

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup chocolate chips

2 tablespoons raw turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, salt, baking soda and spices in a bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together. Add egg and vanilla, and mix until pale yellow and smooth, about 3 minutes. Stir in molasses and mashed bananas. Add half of dry ingredients, just mixing until combined, then add buttermilk. Add remaining dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray and pour batter in. Top with raw turbinado sugar. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.