Friday, March 23, 2012

Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt {Foodie Friday}


The night I made this I was not on my A-game. It was Thursday night and I had had very little sleep since Monday. With a coughing hubby and a wakeful toddler it’s safe to say that I barely knew which way was up. I failed to set out the butter and eggs to get them to room temperature. I forgot to preheat the oven and grease and flour the pan. What a mess.
Then the recipe did not include the chocolate chips in the instructions. Luckily, I never forget the chocolate, so that wasn’t a problem.. I have added it to the instructions for you..just in case you are having a rough day too.

Anyway…I hate bananas…on their own that is. Caroline and DH eat them all the time, but banana bread is usually as close as I get to eating an actual banana. Luckily, my friend Stacy told me that I could freeze bananas to use them in baking. Well this is probably the best baking tip I have ever heard—and after a little bit of research, I freeze bananas all the time. Bananas have slowly been accumulating in my freezer for the last couple of months. I have made a couple batches of these amazing Banana Crumb Muffins but the bananas were still starting to take over my freezer and DH was starting to complain. I picked this recipe over another that I want to make, because it used 4 bananas.

This is just a typical banana bread made to be baked in a bundt pan. It’s not my normal banana bread recipe, but it could quickly become the staple at our house. It was so moist and wonderful. I brought it into work (per the usual) and everyone kept telling me how wonderful it tasted.

Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
About 4 very ripe bananas, mashed (you should have 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups)
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Oven: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pan: 12-cup Bundt pan. Spray with Pam with Flour or Baker's Joy, or butter and flour pan generously. 

1. Dry ingredients: Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.

2. Cream: Working with a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, then add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each egg goes in. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the bananas.

3. Combine dry & wet: On low speed, add 1/2 the dry ingredients, then all the sour cream, followed by the rest of the flour. Don't worry if the batter curdles.
STIR IN CHOCOLATE CHIPS

4. Bundt Pan: Pour into prepared bundt pan. Rap pan on the counter to debubble and smooth the top.

5. Bake: Place pan in the oven (never put a Bundt pan on a tray - air needs to circulate through the hole in the center of the Bundt pan). Bake until a skewer inserted comes out clean or with just a few crumbs, about 65 to 75 minutes. Check the cake after about 30 minutes - if it is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent. Remove and let cool on rack for 10 minutes before unmolding onto rack. Cool to room temp.

6. Dorie says "If you've got the time, wrap the cooled cake in plastic and allow it to sit on the counter overnight before serving - it's better the next day."

No comments:

Post a Comment