- Puddings | Recipes
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
This brown butter chocolate chip banana bread is the only banana bread recipe you need. Baked in a loaf tin, this makes the softest, most delicious banana bread, laced with rich dark chocolate that melts into the cake, creating little pockets of melty dark chocolate.
What you need for this Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Butter, to control the salt in the cake, use unsalted
Light soft brown sugar, which contains molasses so using it results in a softer yet denser cake as it retains moisture. It’s delicious here.
Granulated sugar, or caster sugar if you have it
Eggs, fresh eggs make the best cakes!
Banana, you will need around four very ripe bananas. When I have bananas going brown in my kitchen and I know they are past the point of being eaten as a snack, I throw them straight in the freezer. Just defrost when you want to bake and you have the ripe bananas you always need for a recipe like this!
Greek yoghurt, this keeps the cake bouncy and moist.
Flour, plain rather than self-raising.
Vanilla
Bicarb of soda
Salt
Chocolate chips, we love these ones and they are such a worthwhile investment as the cost is so good compared to the small supermarket bags.
How to make brown butter
The key to the moist banana bread texture comes down to a few things but most notably the brown butter. The brown butter leaves the cake soft and fudgy whilst giving it a nutty, caramel flavour. Along with the Greek yoghurt and two types of sugar, the moisture is well retained when baking which makes this a super moist chocolate chip banana bread.
Step 1: melt the butter and keep over medium-high heat.
Step 2: the butter will start foaming and bubbling. Keep stirring every so often as the milk solids will start to separate and you don’t want them to burn on the bottom of the pan.
Step 3: after a short while, the milk solids will be brown and toasty. It will smell nutty too. Keep stirring until the milk solids (the flecks) are dark brown but definitely not black. If they are black, you’ve burnt it and the banana bread will be bitter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Brown butter is melted butter that has been taken just past the point of melted to “brown it”. When you melt butter, you tend to get a separation of the milk solids (the white specks) and the yellow liquid, the butterfat. When you brown the butter, you toast the milk solids so they turn a golden brown which gives the whole thing a nutty flavour. You also see this method in cooking, like in crispy brown butter gnocchi with sage.
This loaf really is best with chocolate chips but you could mix in chopped walnuts, chopped peanuts or even chopped hazelnuts. Or it would be good without anything added in, just as a moist banana bread.
Yes you could use an 8×8 inch square tin, just bake for 30-35 minutes and then check in as it will take less time than a loaf but it should still retain its moist texture.
More recipes like this one
Moist chocolate cake
No bake Biscoff cheesecake
Whipped brown butter
Fluffy banana pancakes
Chocolate chip skillet cookie
Moist Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
A moist, easy chocolate chip banana bread recipe that will be the only recipe you reach for once you’ve tried it.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: Makes 1 9 x 5 inch loaf 1x
- Category: Pudding
- Method: Oven
Ingredients
- 380g (1 1/2 cups) ripe and mashed banana (3–4 medium bananas) + 1 more banana for decoration
- 115g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter,
- 100g (1/2 cup) light brown sugar
- 100g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 130g (1/2 cup) thick Greek yoghurt
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 180g (1 1/3 cups) plain flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 140g (3/4 cup) dark chocolate, roughly chopped + a handful more for sprinkling on top (or use chocolate chips)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 160c and grease and line a 9×5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Begin by browning your butter. It will go from melted to then bubbling loudly before going quiet and foamy. Keep stirring until it turns a light amber colour and you can smell chestnuts.
- Once browned, pour into a bowl to cool down.
- In a bowl, whisk together the melted brown butter and sugars for a minute until thick.
- Add in your mashed bananas, eggs, yoghurt, and vanilla.
- Once all of your wet ingredients are mixed together, gently stir in the flour, bicarb and salt. Then, fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Slice the extra banana in half lengthways and lay with the cut side up. Sprinkle extra chocolate chips on top if you like.
- Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let it cool completely before removing from the pan. Store at room temperature in an air-tight container.
Notes
Delicious served as it is, or with some whipped brown butter. Or with a toasted lightly in a pan and served with butter and some chopped toasted pecans. Or serve with a spoon of yoghurt and a drizzle of peanut butter or caramel sauce. So good.
