This banana bread has everything you want and need in a sweet breakfast.
Why is being physically graceful an admired trait? 
I find it impossible. I drop things whenever I’m talking to someone important, I knock things over when I’m trying to be quiet, I trip more often than I’d like to admit, and I’m constantly bumping into people. And furniture. And walls.
I also have a plum-like propensity to bruise, so you’d think I’d learn. I haven’t yet.
Maybe that makes me sound like a toddler, or a drunk. Or a drunken toddler. But I assure you, I am just a woman in her 20s trying to navigate through the world, incapable of bodily dexterity and perfectly okay with that.
(As a quick aside, we all know that it’s considered an attractive trait in women – and men too, often – and I find that slightly ridiculous. It’s basically another way of saying, “look pretty and don’t ruffle any feathers”. You know what, I think some feathers could use a good ruffle. But I digress.)
I may have all the physical composure of an octopus in heels, but as long as I can hold a spoon, I can still make a mean banana bread. With chocolate, no less.
Mixing some of the batter with pure semi-sweet chocolate and swirling it in with the rest creates a great texture and a fun look. With a little punch of espresso powder (and some Kahlua if you’re feeling extra saucy), this banana bread gets elevated to a whole new level of skillet-dessert deliciousness.
If you don’t have a cast iron pan, you can use a regular 9” cake pan. The same recipe will work in a regular loaf pan as well, just with a slightly longer baking time.
This one’s for you, my clumsy friends.
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Skillet Chocolate Espresso Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate
- 5 bananas (2 1/3 cup mashed)
- 1/2 cup 4 ounces unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon espresso powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons Kahlua
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and generously grease a 9” cast iron pan. Melt the chocolate either in a double boiler or the microwave in short increments, then set aside to cool to room temperature.
- If your bananas aren’t at the brown and speckled stage yet, pop em’ in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until browned and soft. Let cool a little before mashing them so you don’t burn yourself – to mash them, I sliced each banana lengthwise and let the peel just slide right off.
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and espresso powder. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the brown sugar into the melted butter, followed by the eggs, vanilla extract, and buttermilk. Add the mashed bananas, then use a spatula to gently fold in the dry ingredients. Take about 1/2 cup of the batter and add it to the melted and cooled chocolate. Stir in the Kahlua and mix until homogenous.
- Pour half the batter into the prepared pan, then alternate between plopping spoonfuls of the chocolate batter and the plain batter into the pan. Take a butter knife and gently make a few circular motions through the batter to make a marbled pattern (I got a bit carried away, you only really need to do one spiral motion through the whole pan).
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. For best flavor, let cool completely before slicing. Or you could just go for it immediately with a smear of butter and maybe some nutella. You do you.
- Category: Breakfast
