1 ¼cups (160g)all purpose flour, siftedplus 1 teaspoon for the mini chocolate chips
⅓cup (30g)Dutch process unsweetened dark cocoa powder, sifted
1teaspoon baking powder
½teaspoonbaking soda
½teaspoonfine sea salt
¼teaspooncinnamon
½cup (100g)packed brown sugar
6tablespoons (75g)granulated sugar
½cup (115m)vegetable oil or neutral oil of your choice
2largeeggs
1teaspoonpure vanilla extract
⅓cup (78ml)buttermilk
⅔cup (160g)mashed very ripe bananas(about 2 medium bananas)
½cup (85g)mini semisweet chocolate chips
Maple Espresso Icing
1 ½tablespoons (23ml)maple syrup
2-3tablespoons (30-45ml)heavy cream
1 teaspoonespresso powder
½teaspoonpure maple extract
1cup (120g)powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
Double Chocolate Banana Bread
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the bottom of an 8 x 4-inch or 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease and flour the inside of the baking pan with a mixture of equal parts flour and cocoa powder.
In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon until well combined.
In a large bowl, whisk together, by hand or with an electric mixer, the brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and buttermilk until smooth and well blended. Stir in the mashed bananas. Stir in the flour mixture just until combined. In a small bowl, toss the mini chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon of flour, then stir them into the batter.
Transfer the batter to the loaf pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 45-55 minutes. If you hit melted chocolate chips, insert another toothpick in a different spot. You can also use an instant read thermometer to check for doneness. The internal temperature should be approximately 200ºF (95ºC). Let the banana bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove it from the pan and transfer it to a cooling rack.
Maple Espresso Icing
In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, 2 tablespoons of cream, the espresso powder and maple extract, until the espresso powder is dissolved. Gradually whisk in the powdered sugar and continue whisking until well combined. Add additional cream until the desired consistency is reached. whisk until smooth. Spread the icing over the top of the cooled loaf.