I bought eight bananas at the grocery store. I ate one and the remaining bananas sat on the counter and got way too ripe for my tastes. I thought Jordan would eat at least a couple but apparently he has decided that he no longer likes bananas. How did I miss this?? Obviously, I had no choice but to take those overripe bananas and combine them with some sugar….obviously ;). Thankfully, Jordan still likes banana bread.
I’m obsessed with oranges lately (all citrus fruits, actually), so I thought adding some orange to my banana bread would be a great idea. And then, I thought why not add some chocolate too? For the longest time, I didn’t really care for the combination of orange and chocolate but then something just clicked and now I love it.
I started with a basic banana bread recipe and then added some cocoa powder, dark chocolate chips, and orange zest. I was worried that the banana flavor would overpower the orange flavor but in the end it was a nice balance. You definitely know it’s banana bread, but the orange flavor comes through as well. I thought about trying to make it “healthier” but in the end decided that using white whole wheat flour was healthy enough ;). If you’re looking for a delicious twist on regular banana bread, you should give this recipe a try! Enjoy!
Chocolate Orange Banana Bread
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp espresso powder
2 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup 2% plain greek yogurt
1/4 cup canola oil
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
zest of one orange
1/2 tsp orange extract (optional)
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips, divided
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray loaf pan with nonstick spray.
2. In large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, yogurt, oil, bananas, orange zest, orange extract, and vanilla.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir just until combined – be careful not to overmix. Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips.
4. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs. Cool in pan for 10-15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.
Nutritional Info (per 1/12th): 245 calories; 10.6 g fat; 36.4 g carbohydrates; 3.6 g fiber; 5.0 g protein.
