Just J.Faye

Hiking & Other Adventures

Chocolate Banana Bread

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Last Thursday I was supposed to have a 5:30am client, so I got up, got dressed, ate, drank coffee, and was about to head out the door at 5:00 when I see a text, “I’m not feeling well, can we push our session out to tomorrow?”

Ugh.

Typically I would have said no and burned the session, but due to other circumstances I let it slide and pushed the session out to the next day.

So there I was awake at 5:00am and I decided to make some chocolate banana bread.

chocolate banana bread

Most people probably would have gone back to bed, but I decided to take advantage of the peaceful morning hours that I don’t typically see. Plus, there was some sort of rain-snow situation going on outside, so baking a warm chocolate-y loaf of banana bread just seemed right.

And then I had a loaf of chocolate banana bread at my fingertips to enjoy, soooo… no complaints.

chocolate banana bread

This chocolate banana bread recipe is adapted from this basic banana bread, but I replaced some of the flour with cocoa powder and traded the walnuts for chocolate chips. The wet ingredients are mixed into the dry before pouring the batter in a loaf pan. I decided to sprinkle some coffee grounds on top for an extra crunch and a light hint of coffee flavor to balance out the chocolate. I really liked it, but you could totally skip it if you wanted. It’s simple to make, even in the wee hours of the morning while your eyes may only be half-open.

The result is a delicious, moist loaf of banana bread with just the right hint of chocolate. It’s perfect for a mid-morning snack, but I wouldn’t argue with you if you ate it for breakfast and/or dessert.

chocolate banana bread

Oddly enough I posted that basic banana bread recipe almost exactly one year ago. Isn’t that weird? I can still clearly remember sitting down to type up that post as the banana bread was baking in the oven.

My life is so different now than it was then: Minneapolis to Denver. Supply Chain to Personal Training. Owning a condo to renting a garden level duplex. Lakes to mountains. Family close by to family far away. Not different in a bad way, just different.

chocolate banana bread

I haven’t quite gotten into my groove here in Denver, but now I’m ready to start hustling.

The chocolate banana bread helps with the motivation.

chocolate banana bread

Chocolate Banana Bread
 
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This chocolate banana bread is moist and delicious with the perfect hint of chocolate. It's perfect for a mid-morning snack accompanied with a big mug of coffee, but would be great for breakfast and/or dessert as well!
Serves: 12 slices
Ingredients
  • 1 ¼ white whole wheat flour
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
  • 2 medium overripe bananas, mashed
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¼ cup buttermilk
  • ½ cup chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon coffee grounds (optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter, mashed bananas, vanilla extract, eggs, and buttermilk. Whisk until combined.
  4. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined.
  5. Stir in the chocolate chips, saving some for the top of the loaf.
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan then sprinkle with the coffee grounds and remaining chocolate chips
  7. Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.
  8. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before removing and transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
You can make your own buttermilk by adding a little bit of lemon juice to regular milk (soy, dairy, almond, etc) or yogurt.
This bread will keep for a few days wrapped in plastic wrap or in the freezer for a few months.

Side note: I brought a majority of this loaf into work and crossed my fingers that the other trainers wouldn’t shame me and hate me for bringing in something not so healthy. They didn’t. They ate it and they loved it. I can’t explain to you how happy it made me.

chocolate banana bread

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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

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My roommate and I have found ourselves in a little situation: we have a stockpile of ripe bananas in our freezer.

Do bananas ripen much quicker in a kitchen that is approximately 7 degrees too warm? Or do they ripen much quicker in Denver than in Minneapolis? Or are we just buying bananas that are already too close to ripening?

I guess it doesn’t matter. A stockpile of ripe bananas = An abundance of banana bread.

It’s actually a pretty good situation to be in and neither of us were complaining about eating this brown butter chocolate chip banana bread.

brown butter chocolate chip banana bread

Last week I came home from a particularly promising interview and didn’t want the good vibes to go to waste, so I dug into the ripe banana stockpile and whipped up some banana bread <— good decisions.

And decided to use brown butter and chocolate chips <— the best decisions.

brown butter chocolate chip banana bread

I turned on some tunes, browned butter, mashed bananas, mixed the wet with the dry, threw in a handful of chocolate chips, and just kept the good vibes going. Soon the delicious aroma of banana bread was filling the house.

This is the beauty of banana bread. It is so easy to make and smells like a dream.

brown butter chocolate chip banana bread

Plus, can we just all agree that fresh banana bread is one of the greatest things to eat ever?

I ate some, saved some for Katie, and brought the rest into Blackbird for my co-workers. That’s how I make friends… along with my charmingly awkward personality.

60% of the time it works every time.

brown butter chocolate chip banana bread

If you don’t have a stockpile of ripe bananas in your freezer, start building! Then bake this up, make some friends, and spread the good vibes.

PS – Basic Banana Bread, Chocolate Chip Raspberry Banana Bread, Brown Butter Bourbon Blondies, and Brown Butter Pumpkin Bars

brown butter chocolate chip banana bread

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
 
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Few things are better than freshly baked banana bread, but add some brown butter and chocolate chips in the mix and you know you're going to have a great day.
Serves: 12 slices
Ingredients
  • 9 tablespoons butter, unsalted
  • 2 large ripe bananas, mashed
  • ½ cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 egg
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 ½ cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
  2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Continue to whisk until brown specks appear at the bottom, it will froth and foam a bit. Watch closely and be careful not to burn. It should be a light brown color and have a nutty aroma. Pour butter into a medium bowl, whisk in an ice cube, and let cool for a few minutes.
  3. Add the mashed bananas, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, and milk. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
  4. Add the flour and baking soda and stir a few times until just combined. Lumps are ok!
  5. Fold in the chocolate chips, saving some for the top of the loaf.
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the remaining chocolate chips.
  7. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.
  8. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before removing and transferring to a cooling rack.
  9. Slice and serve the bread warm with your favorite spread. It will keep well for a few days wrapped in plastic wrap or in the freezer for a few months.
Notes
You can use any type of milk (dairy, almond, soy, etc) and yogurt works too.

If you are baking this in altitude, make the following adjustments: add an additional tablespoon of milk and flour and take just a little bit out of the teaspoon of baking soda and ½ cup of brown sugar. Also, increase the oven temperature to 365 degrees and reduce baking time to 45-50 minutes.

I said good vibes a lot in this post. No, I’m not high, but maybe it is the altitude?

brown butter choc chip banana bread5

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Glazed Orange Tahini Bread

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This glazed orange tahini bread. I’ve been dreaming about this for months. Finally, (finally!) I made it a reality.

Glazed Orange Tahini Bread I don’t know why it took me so long to try. Maybe because December was filled with cookies and in January I tried to ease up on the sugar thing a bit? Maybe. Whatever the reason, it’s here now and I am happy.

Glazed Orange Tahini Bread By the way, Happy Valentine’s Day!

Since this is the holiday of love, or whatever, I’ll tell you about my love affair… with tahini. I don’t know what sparked this obsession turned to love, but I’m thankful for whatever did. I must have read about it on a blog and then decided to buy it at the grocery store. Since then I have been putting it on e.ver.y.thing: salads, roasted vegetables, yogurt, spoons that lead directly to my mouth… (don’t judge).

It’s like peanut butter. I don’t allow myself to have peanut butter or almond butter in my pantry anymore (except for special occasions/moments of weakness because it’s too dangerously delicious), so tahini is my new too-obsessed-must-try-to-quit-but-can’t item. There’s always one.

Tahini, if you are unaware, is sesame paste. You can find it in a lot of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dishes and is a key component of hummus (like this one!) It’s full of protein and healthy fats. I personally love it paired with citrus. Kale + spinach + chopped grilled chicken breast + clementines + tahini = one amazing salad.

So, in the name of St. Valentine I married oranges and tahini and placed them in this bread of my dreams.

Glazed Orange Tahini Bread Similar to my basic banana bread (the most popular recipe on just j.faye by far!) this orange tahini bread has the standard quick bread formula: 2 parts flour + 2 parts liquid + 1 part egg + 1 part fat. We combine the dry ingredients, then combine the wet ingredients, then mix the wet ingredients into the dry.

It truly is that simple.

However, we spruce it up a little bit with the addition of orange zest sugar, freshly squeezed orange juice, and tahini. Then, of course, we add the glaze for more sprucing. You can leave the glaze off, but it’s a holiday, so just put it on there.

Glazed Orange Tahini Bread Yes, I realize that some sort of intense chocolaty dessert would have been a more appropriate Valentine’s Day post. However, the blogosphere is flooded with amazing chocolate candies, cupcakes, brownies, mousse, and layer cakes right now. Have you noticed? I’ve been drooling over all of them for weeks. So I went with the orange tahini bread. Plus, cara cara oranges are crazy good right now… and are pink(ish) so it’s somewhat festive.

Glazed Orange Tahini Bread

Glazed Orange Tahini Bread
 
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This is a simple, delicious quick bread spruced up with oranges and tahini.
Serves: 12
Ingredients
For the bread:
  • Zest from 2 oranges (I used cara cara oranges)
  • ½ cup (115 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 ½ cups (230 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup orange juice
  • ¼ cup Greek yogurt
  • ½ cup tahini
For the glaze:
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon tahini
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
  2. In a large bowl, rub together orange zest and sugar using the back of a spoon or your fingers until fragrant. Add in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda. Stir until combined and set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients until smooth.
  4. Pour the wet ingredients slowly into the dry. Whisk until just combined, being careful not to over mix.
  5. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with crumbs.
  6. Let bread cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  7. For the glaze: whisk the powdered sugar, orange juice, and tahini together. Pour over the bread.
  8. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
You can (probably) substitute the Greek yogurt for milk (dairy or nut) or buttermilk; however, I didn’t try this so I don’t know with 100% certainty.

These would work well as muffins too! Just decrease the baking time to 25-30 minutes.

You can add the glaze as soon as it is slightly cooled. I baked the bread at night and then added the glaze the next morning.

I measured the flour and sugar out by weight rather than volume. I recommend you do the same!

Look at these beautiful flowers. To me. From me. Happy Valentine’s Day <3

Valentine's Day

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Basic Banana Bread

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Some days just aren’t my days. On these days alliwannado is bake. So bake is what I shall do. And bake is what I did.

basic banana bread I didn’t want anything complicated. Something simple that was comforting and delicious. No tricky concoctions. No big mixer. Just some bowls and spoons and some simple baking magic.

Thus we have here: basic banana bread.

basic banana bread When I say basic, I mean basic. This is banana bread at essentially its purest form: 2 parts flour, 2 parts liquid, 1 part egg, 1 part fat. I also added some toasted walnuts and cinnamon, because walnuts, cinnamon, and bananas are like the three best friends and we needn’t separate best friends.

basic banana bread Baking like this is therapy. It’s a no fuss recipe. All we need here is ten ingredients, two bowls, some measuring equipment, and a whisk.

Mix the dry. Mix the wet. Combine the dry and the wet. Stir in some nuts and pop it in the oven. That’s it. That’s all it takes. The only difficult part is waiting for it to bake while your kitchen fills with the sweet banana bread smell.

Even those who “cannot bake” can successfully make this bread happen. I promise you.

basic banana bread When I say that it is basic, I don’t mean to say that is isn’t delicious. It is. This banana bread is goooooood. I want to curl up inside of it and take a warm, cozy, banana bread nap. But since I am not Miss Frizzle and cannot in fact shrink myself to fit inside the banana bread (remember this episode?!), I will instead settle for enjoying it with a big ole cup of coffee and a brand new day. Like I did this morning and will tomorrow morning too.

basic banana bread Last night I decided that with the whole pain in my hip/leg/knee I am just going to stop running. Not one more running step until I walk up to the start line of the Philadelphia Marathon on November 23 and hear the starting gun… or whistle or announcement or whatever they use to signify the start of the run (plus about 5 minutes, because I’ll be at the back of the pack). Then from there I will try to run/walk/survive 26.2 miles while having as much fun as I possibly can. Who knows, maybe with all the rest I will have some sort of Philly Rocky miracle. Riiiiighttt???

In the meantime I will get an x-ray (eeks!) and do lots of yoga and cross training and foam rolling and, let’s face it, baking.

basic banana bread So there will be other days for fancy banana breads with brown butter or coconut oil or peanut butter or chocolate chips or cocoa nibs or all of the above. Today, however, is just a basic banana bread day.

Basic Banana Bread
 
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This basic banana bread is both simple and delicious. Enjoy it with coffee and your favorite spread for breakfast or as a snack!
Serves: 1 loaf
Ingredients
  • 2 scant cups all-purpose flour (see note)
  • ½ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 medium overripe bananas, mashed
  • ¼ cup buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter, mashed bananas, buttermilk, and eggs. Whisk until combined. Having some small banana lumps is completely ok.
  4. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined.
  5. Stir in the walnuts, saving some for the top of the loaf.
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the remaining walnuts.
  7. Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.
  8. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before removing and transferring to a cooling rack.
  9. Slice and serve the bread warm with your favorite spread. It will keep well for a few days wrapped in plastic wrap or in the freezer for a few months.
Notes
When measuring the flour spoon the flour into the measuring cup rather than using the cup to scoop out the flour. The first cup can be full, but make the second one just a little bit short.

Toast the walnuts by placing them on a baking pan in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until fragrant. You can go ahead and put them in right when you start the oven, no need to wait until it is fully pre-heated!

basic banana bread

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Chocolate Cacao Nib Banana Bread

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Let’s kick off this week with some bread. Chocolate Cacao Nib Banana Bread  Brown bananas are a little bit ugly, but beautiful at the same time and filled with so much delicious potential! Chocolate Cacao Nib Banana Bread What to make, what to make… I was brainstorming as I watched these bananas slowly turn browner with each passing day. Then I decided: chocolate banana bread. With some cacao nibs. And a little bit of Greek yogurt. Delicious, yes?

Have you ever heard of or tried cacao nibs? They are basically pieces of cacao beans that have been chopped up and roasted. If you were to grind them up with some sugar you’d have chocolate! Cacao nibs themselves aren’t very sweet, but still have a light chocolate flavor to them. They also have a nice crunch, kind of like a roasted coffee bean. As an added bonus cacao nibs are pretty healthy. They are full of antioxidants as well as magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, and potassium. Plus, they can elevate your mood and give you an energy boost! Soooo… let’s eat some. Chocolate Cacao Nib Banana Bread My mom had given me some a while back to try, but I had stuck them in my cupboard and forgot about them. Out of sight, out of mind, you know? Then when I was in Costa Rica I came across some dark chocolate covered cacao nibs, which led me to remember the long-lost cacao nibs in my cupboard, which led me to buy the chocolate covered ones, which led me to want to make something delicious with them, which is now leading me to this bread with my brown bananas. Chocolate Cacao Nib Banana Bread Isn’t that a nice little chain of events? It led to such a delicious place.

This chocolate banana bread isn’t overly sweet. The melted butter and Greek yogurt give it the perfect level of moist-ness (is that a word?) and density. The cacao nibs add a nice crunch. You can have it for breakfast with some jam or, better yet, some almond butter. Or you could have it for a mid-day snack or a post-dinner dessert. Or you could just eat it all day, every day for the rest of your life, but I’ll let you make that decision.

Chocolate Cacao Nib Banana Bread So the next time you have some brown bananas on your counter staring you in the face, you should probably make this bread. You can track down cacao nibs (plain, chocolate covered, or both) in Costa Rica, but also Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s if that’s more convenient for you. If you aren’t interested in cacao nibs, that’s ok! You can replace them with chopped nuts, chocolate chips, or nothing at all.

Chocolate Cacao Nib Banana Bread

Chocolate Cacao Nib Banana Bread
 
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A delicious chocolate banana bread studded with cacao nibs. Perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack.
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Serves: 1 loaf
Ingredients
  • 1½ cup all purpose flour
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup butter (1 stick)
  • 2 eggs
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • 3 ripe bananas, mashed (~1-1 ½ cups)
  • ¼ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cup cacao nibs (I used a mix of plain and chocolate covered cacao nibs)
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
  2. In a medium size bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Let is cool slightly.
  4. Whisk in the eggs. Then add the brown sugar, bananas, yogurt, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
  5. Add in the dry ingredients and stir until combined, being careful not to over mix.
  6. Stir in the cacao nibs.
  7. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until you can insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean.
  8. Let the bread cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then take it out and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
  9. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
I used a mix of plain and chocolate covered cacao nibs, but feel free to use one or the other.
The cacao nibs can be replaced with a mix of chopped nuts and chocolate chips.

Chocolate Cacao Nib Banana Bread

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