Monkeying Around: Nutella Banana Bread

I can finally appreciate how my mom must have felt when I was a surly teenager and she made a homemade meal just to hear me quip that I would rather have takeout or I suddenly had an aversion to said ingredients in the dish. I'm thankful she didn't kill me. 

I sort of felt the same way after stock piling vegetables and fruit in the house for our holiday guests, only to find that barely a dent was made. Subway was apparently more popular for lunch than a homemade sandwich with some delicious fruits and veggies on the side. Grrr. 

Two days ago this is where I found myself, with a whole bunch of vegetables and fruit, specifically a Banana Mafia threatening to over ripe. Let's just say the form of torture they promised to provide (aka forcing me to eat them all in one sitting-I'm not a huge banana fan) was almost as unbearable as the thought of letting them all go to waste. So, I decided to beat them, literally beat them, at their own game and turn them into something delicious that the whole family could enjoy: Nutella Banana Bread. 

I found this recipe while perusing the boards over at Pinterest and knew I had to try it. I really didn't want to make just plain 'ol Banana Bread with my Mafia Bananas, so I figured Nutella would provide the perfect burial for my bananas. This recipe comes from "Baking with Basil", a foodie blog that mostly focuses on breads and desserts, but also has a few dinner recipes thrown in for good measure. Here's the recipe:

Nutella Banana Bread: Basil's version. She's good at the swirly thing. Photo from: www.bakingwithbasil.com

Nutella Banana Bread

Adapted from Sugar Plum

Ingredients

• 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup Nutella

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.

2.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3.  In a large mixing bowl, beat together banana, butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until combined, about 2 minutes.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated.  Reduce mixer to low speed, slowly add flour  mixture.  Stir just until combined.

4.  Place 1/3 of batter into a separate bowl.  In a small glass bowl, heat Nutella in microwave for about 15 seconds.  Remove from microwave and stir.  Place heated Nutella in bowl with 1/3 of the batter.  Stir together until combined.

5. Place 1/2 of banana batter in loaf pan, spread evenly.  Add layer of Nutella batter, add layer of banana batter.  Using a knife, gently swirl batter.  Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into bread comes out with a few crumbs.

Notes

• Combine banana batter and Nutella batter in any way you desire.  There is no right or wrong way

• Once loaf is cooled, wrap tightly in foil or plastic wrap and place in an airtight bag or container

• I found the bread to be more flavorful the next day.  If the top of your bread is a little crispy, that’s ok.  It will soften once stored.

Pros: This recipe is delicious! My husband and brother literally ate half a loaf in one breakfast sitting. It holds for a few days and, true to Basil's word, it does soften the next day. 

Cons: Steps 4 and 5 (besides the whole melting of the Nutella) are a pain in the butt and pretty unnecessary. Also, it requires an extra bowl, which in my book means extra dishes to wash and I am not into that. I think if you just mixed the Nutella into the batter and poured it right in the baking pan you would be fine. But hey, if you have the time and the skills to make it look swirly, knock yourself out.

Recipe Revisions: Besides forgoing the whole layering method of the recipe, I have no changes. This is truly just a really solid recipe that everyone is sure to love.

My final product. Note the lack of swirl. Still yummy though!