Chocolate Bourbon Banana Bread

By stancec44

Blogger and cookbook author Joy Wilson created this amazing rendition of chocolate banana nut bread by riffing on a recipe from her grandma, or Mommom. Her changes to the classic dense loaf leave us nothing short of incredulous.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter (4 oz), softened, plus more for the pan
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups (about 3) mashed ripe bananas (be certain to measure your mashed bananas and only use 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons bourbon, plus more for the baker
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate (6 oz)

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C) and place a rack in the center of the oven. Butter and flour a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan, tapping out any excess flour.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating for 1 minute between additions. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the bananas, lemon juice, and bourbon and beat with the paddle until well incorporated. The mixture may look curdled, but that’s okay.

4. Turn the mixer to low, add the flour mixture all at once, and beat until almost completely incorporated. Stop the mixer, add the walnuts and chocolate, and stir by hand with a spatula or wooden spoon just until incorporated. Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf pan.

5. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a skewer inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 20 minutes before inverting it onto a wire rack and letting it cool completely, if you can manage to keep your hands off it. The banana bread will keep, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 5 days at room temperature. [Editor’s Note: Hah! Good luck making it last 5 days let alone 5 hours…]