Ingredients:
2 cups spooned and leveled whole wheat flour
1 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (Not Dutch process)
1 Tbsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
8 over-ripe bananas (4 cups mashed)
1 cup granulated sugar
16 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 large eggs
4 tsp vanilla extract
1 to 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate baking chips
For a vegan version:
Replace the 4 eggs with 4 Tbsp ground flax seeds mixed with ¾ cup (12 Tbsp) water.
Replace the ½ lb melted butter with 4 fl oz olive oil and ½ cup applesauce.
Equipment:
Bowls
Rubber Spatula
Potato masher
Whisk
Measuring cups and spoons
Baking tins
Loaf pan
Baking liners, optional
Pot holders, dish cloths
Toothpicks
Directions:
- Gather all the ingredients and equipment.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease the pans with butter and dust them with flour, or line them with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set the dry ingredients aside.
- In a separate bowl, mash the bananas and sugar together until the mixture is well combined with a few chunks of banana remaining, about 2 minutes. Add the butter, eggs and vanilla, mix until fully combined, about 2 minutes.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and add the chocolate chips. Gently fold the mixture just until it is blended and no flour remains. You don’t want to over mix the batter.
- Fill the pans three-quarters of the way full with batter. Bake until firm and a toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs, about 35-40 minutes.
- Carefully remove the pans from the oven. Set them on a rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Then, take the loaves out of the pans and let them cool completely.