Double Chocolate Banana Bread with Maple Espresso Icing

Double Chocolate Banana Bread with Maple Espresso Icing

Tender, moist chocolate banana bread loaded with mini chocolate chips, topped with maple espresso icing by Brownie Mischief
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients
  

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

  • 1 ¼ cups (160g) all purpose flour, sifted plus 1 teaspoon for the mini chocolate chips
  • â…“ cup (30g) Dutch process unsweetened dark cocoa powder, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ cup (100g) packed brown sugar
  • 6 tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (115m) vegetable oil or neutral oil of your choice
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • â…“ cup (78ml) buttermilk
  • â…” cup (160g) mashed very ripe bananas (about 2 medium bananas)
  • ½ cup (85g) mini semisweet chocolate chips

Maple Espresso Icing

  • 1 ½ tablespoons (23ml) maple syrup
  • 2-3 tablespoons (30-45ml) heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder
  • ½ teaspoon pure maple extract
  • 1 cup (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.

Notes

To find the loaf pan I used, click here.
Keyword banana, chocolate, loaf

Fudgy Chocolate Crumb Cake

Fudgy Chocolate Crumb Cake

This moist, fudgy chocolate cake with a generous amount of melt-in-your-mouth chocolate crumb topping and powdered sugar snow is perfect for frosty mornings with a cup of hot coffee or tea. It’s also perfect for a holiday breakfast or brunch served with fresh raspberries and/or raspberry sauce.*

Fudgy Chocolate Crumb Cake

Rich, moist, fudgy chocolate cake with melt-in-your mouth crumb topping and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 9 servings

Ingredients
  

Crumb Topping

  • 1 cup (128g) all purpose flour
  • â…“ cup (66g) packed brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons (38g) granulated suger
  • 2 tablespoons (12g) Dutch process unsweetened dark cocoa powder
  • â…› teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 7 tablespoons (99g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed

Cake

  • 1 ¼ cups (160g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 6 tablespoons (35g) Dutch process unsweetened dark cocoa powder, sifted
  • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
  • â…” cup (132g) granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup (50g) packed brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable oil or neutral oil of your choice
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • â…” cup (150g) sour cream
  • â…” cup (118ml) hot coffee or espresso
  • â…“ cup (85g) semisweet mini chocolate chips
  • Powered sugar for sprinkling

Instructions
 

Crumb Topping

  • In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder and salt until well combined. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it looks like dirt, with no large pieces of butter remaining. Press the mixture together to form chunks. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line an 8-inch square cake pan** with parchment paper, leaving a couple of inches of overhang to serve as handles to lift the cake out of the pan. If you want to serve the cake directly from the pan, you can skip the parchment paper and simply spray the pan with nonstick spray.
  • In a medium-size bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt together until well combined.
  • In a large bowl, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar together, with an electric mixer at medium speed, until light and fluffy. Beat in the oil until combined. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla in 3 separate additions, making sure each one is incorporated before adding the next.
  • On low speed, beat the flour mixture into the batter in 2 additions, alternating with half of the sour cream after each addition. Beat just until combined. Gradually beat in the hot coffee just until smooth and well combined. Fold in the mini chocolate chips.
  • Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan. Top the batter evenly with the crumb topping. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes with a few moist crumbs attached (not wet batter), about 28-37 minutes.
  • Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan and continue cooling on a cooling rack. Sprinkle powdered sugar over the cooled cake.

Notes

*To find my raspberry sauce recipe, click here.
**To find my favorite 8-inch square cake pan, click here.
 
Keyword cake, chocolate, crumb