Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread

Enjoy this delicious, baked banana bread packed with melt-in-your-mouth chocolate melts!

Plenty of baking therapy has been going down this month! 

The stress that has come with uprooting our lives and moving, and then dealing with all kinds of issues with our new condo has left me feeling anxious and like I don't have much control over anything these days. There is something to say about baking as therapy. Sure, I love to enjoy delicious baked goods on the regular. But, the act of baking itself is so therapeutic to me it's no wonder I have spent a majority of my time in the kitchen these last few weeks!

Our cupboard has been filled to the brim with all kinds of baking goodies I have gotten my hands on since we moved in, and last week I finally got my shipment of locally sourced Arizona olive oils from Queen Creek Olive Mill that are perfect for baking (including the chocolate olive oil I used to make this banana bread!) I also finally got my hands on more parchment paper and cake flour from King Arthur Flour, which I have been sitting and waiting on until I got my last paycheck, as well as this cute cake pan I found at the antique warehouse just down the street from us!

Enjoy this banana bread recipe packed with organic, fair trade chocolate melts as a breakfast treat or an afternoon pick-me-up!

Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 stick of unsalted butter (4 tablespoons)
• 1/4 cup of chocolate olive oil (you may also use canola oil)
• 1 cup of cane sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup of sour cream
• 1 3/4 cup of unbleached cake flour (you may also use regular, unbleached all-purpose flour)
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 cup of gourmet chocolate melts, chopped

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). 
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with the chocolate olive oil and the cane sugar. Continue to mix well (at least 5 minutes by hand, 3 minutes with an electric mixer) until it is a creamy texture with no visible sugar clumps. 
3. Mix in the eggs, vanilla extract, the bananas, and sour cream and stir well.
4. Fold in the cake flour, baking soda, and salt. Try to not over-mix. And then fold in about 3/4 of the chopped chocolate melts.
5. Line a small bread loaf pan with parchment paper. 
6. Pour the batter into the paper, and then sprinkle the remaining 1/4 of the chopped chocolate melts on top. Sprinkle a pinch of sugar on top.
7. Bake the loaf for 30 minutes at 350 degrees (F), and then pull it out from the oven and cover the top with aluminum foil to prevent burning. Put it back in the oven.
8. Bake for another 20-25 minutes or until it is baked all of the ways through. I prefer to use a toothpick and poke it in a few different places in the center of the loaf--if the toothpick comes out clean in all of the different places around the pan, it is baked and ready to come out of the oven. 
9. Allow your bread to cool before serving it. 
10. Enjoy this banana bread while it is still warm with your morning coffee, or toss it in the refrigerator to enjoy later on!

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