August 5, 2008

TWD- The Black and White Banana Loaf

Last week, I was out of town and really missed my favorite blogging day of the week- Tuesday (I did make my favorite brownies yet... check back later this week)! So I tried to play catch up and made this delicious Banana bread today. It was pretty straight forward and fun to try a new recipe. My recipe I usually use doesn't have chocolate in it (though I often top the loaves with mini-chocolate chips) and has more banana, so I was interested to see how I would like Dorie's recipe. I'll admit, I wasn't too worried, since I like just about everything I've tried out of her book! Of course, she didn't fail me, and this banana bread (or cake, let's not pretend this is healthy!) was delicious.

I used milk chocolate since that enourmous bag of chocolate I bought recently seems to have disappeared. Next time I'll use bittersweet to give a more pronounced flavor. I also halved the nutmeg because I can't stand the flavor, but I think it's a good addition as long as it's really subtle. As for other modifications, I substituted about 3/4 tsp. Rum flavoring for the rum. Maybe the minimal liquid helped thicken my batter. For bananas, I used about 1 1/2 regular sized bananas instead of 2 because lots of people commented their batter was too runny. Mine turned out great but I like a more pronounced banana flavor, so next time I'll use two and make sure they are super ripe. Usually when my bananas get too ripe (and I like them a little green so that happens fast around here!) I just peel them and toss them in baggies to freeze. It's economical and great to have ripe bananas on hand, because whenever you want them, you won't be able to find them anywhere!

I love the look and texture of this banana bread and would encourage you to check out the recipe at Ashlee's blog. Don't miss the other creative, beautiful loaves from everyone at TWD- it'll have you craving bananas!

47 comments:

  1. Your banana loaf turned out beautifully! Lovely marbling :)

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  2. your marbling looks GREAT! this is definitely one of Dorie's recipes I had to play around with to get it just right!

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  3. Okay, you have the vote for best marbling technique...really lovely job of that. It all looks wonderful and the post and photos were great!
    ~Kayte
    www.grandmaskitchentable.typepad.com

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  4. Great marbling! I love banana cake and the addition of chocolate can only be a good thing!

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  5. Your cake/loaf turned out perfectly! The marbling looks great. Good job

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  6. Wow Anne, that was so delicious to look at! What a cool blog. I will be visiting often! (but I wanna see a pic of your family!!)

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  7. I love the marbling effect that you got. Just beautiful!

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  8. Your loaf is stunning! How did you marble it? The banana flavor was subtle, but I just think of it as "marble cake" not "banana cake"...

    Nancy
    The Dogs Eat the Crumbs

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  9. This really does look good. Great marbling. Yummy!!

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  10. Your loaf came out great ~ I'm jealous of your marbling!

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  11. Your marbling is perfectly gorgeous. Lovely!

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  12. Your pictures look excellent, the marbling is close to perfect. Wonderful job!

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  13. Looks gorgeous! Great job marbling. My loaf didn't have enough banana oomph either, but it's because I couldn't get my bananas to ripen enough in my chilly, sunlight-free basement apartment. I think I'll try 2 next time as well.

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  14. Nice marbling and it great photos!

    Have a delicious day :)

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  15. I hear ya on keeping bananas around...I love anything with banana in it. Your marbling looks wonderful, girl.

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  16. It looks like your bread/cake turned out perfectly! Mine was very moist, but certainly delicious. And you rocked on the marbling!

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  17. Oh let's pretend shall we. Bread sounds way healthier. HAHA. Great job!
    Clara @ iheartfood4thought

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  18. marbling is fantastic. I need to work on my technique!

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  19. Nice tip on the bananas. I'm the only one who eats bananas around here, so the bunch always goes bad before I can finish.

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  20. I need to get in the habit of tossing extra ripe bananas in the freezer. Of course I couldn't find any when I wanted then.

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  21. So pretty marbling! Just like Dorie's... I also like my banana cakes with a little more banana flavor.

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  22. I love banana bread and the chocolate in this one was so yummy! Your marbling is perfect!

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  23. yummm...your loaf looks beautiful!
    i loooove your marbling too.
    great job!
    <3

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  24. Amazing marbling, and good tip to replace the rum with rum extract - definitely more oomph there.

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  25. Great marbling! It looks so pretty and delicious!

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  26. Beautiful job on the marbling! Your tip of keeping ripe bananas in the freezer is a great idea...perfect for impromptu banana bread making.

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  27. So glad you liked it! Your marbling is perfect, fab job babe!

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  28. it came out beautiful, great job! :)

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  29. Your banana loaf looks great! Your marbling looks wonderful!

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  30. Great marbling, and yeah - this was a great recipe, wasn't it? Nice!

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  31. Oooh, cool loaf!

    I agree, it wasn't so banana-y flavored.

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  32. You got some good swirling going on!

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  33. Your loaf looks perfect! Great job on marbling!

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  34. What pretty looking banana bread Anne! Really makes me wish I had a loaf on my counter right now!!

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  35. Yours turned out great - not undercooked or gummy anywhere.
    Madam Chow
    http://www.mzkitchen.com

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  36. What a beautiful loaf! And I like that platter or plate they're on...

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  37. Your loaf looks beautiful, especially the marbling. Nice work!

    So do you prefer your own banana bread recipe, or have you found a new favorite?

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  38. Thanks for the sweet comments everyone!

    For my marbling, since I used mini loaves, I just did three spoonfuls across the pan in layers- white brown white then brown white brown until I was out. Then, I ran the knife through and was lucky!

    I still love my banana bread recipe and feel it's a little bit less of a dessert (though it's far from healthy breakfast fare!) and will try to post it soon. Its a Lyon House Recipe that my mom has used for years and never fails... though it'll probably have a little Dorie influence next time I make it!

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  39. This turned out really well. Looks delicious!

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  40. I've never had much luck using frozen bananas in baking -- they wind up way too wet when I defrost them. Is there something I could be doing to fix that?

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  41. Your pics are beautiful! Like everyone else, I love your marbling.

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  42. Your loaf looks perfect, especially the marbling. So pretty!
    Shari@Whisk: a food blog

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  43. WOW!!!!! This is the best marbling I've ever seen!!!

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  44. Your banana loaves look great! I recently bought Dorie's book and just might have to make this one. And holy cow, the brownies! Very tempting. I'll bet the young women loved them! Hope you had fun at camp. I love YW!

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