Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

I want to start off by saying I found this recipe in Cooking Light. I note that point specifically because once you take a bite of this moist, chocolaty bread, you will not at all believe it is light. Everything in moderation and all that jazz, but this is an outstanding recipe and a great way to use up some over ripe bananas.

Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

Yield: 16 slices

2 C all purpose flour
½ t salt
1 C sugar
1 ½ C mashed bananas (about 3)
½ C egg substitute (2 eggs)
1/3 C plain low-fat yogurt
½ C semi-sweet chocolate chips
¾ t baking soda
¼ C butter, softened
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350˚. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Place sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add banana, egg and yogurt; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed until just moist.

Place chocolate chips in a medium microwave safe bowl. Microwave at high for one minute until almost melted, stirring until smooth. Cool slightly. Add 1 cup of batter to chocolate and stir until combined. Spoon chocolate batter alternately with plain batter into an 8 ½ x 4 ½ greased loaf pan. Swirl batters together using a knife. Bake at 350˚ for one hour or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.

Calories: 183 (23% from fat)
Fat: 4.7g (sat 2.8g,mono 1.4g,poly 0.2g)
Protein: 3.1g
Carbohydrate: 33.4g
Fiber: 1.3g
Cholesterol:
8mg
Iron: 1.1mg
Sodium: 180mg
Calcium: 18mg

This is so incredibly delicious. The first time I made it, I literally wanted to eat the entire loaf hot out of the oven. The mouth watering combination of chocolate and bananas with the texture of hot, fresh bread will quite literally send your senses into gastronomic overdrive. This bread keeps pretty well for a few days, but honestly, there is no sensible reason for it to sit more than three or four days before it's gobbled right up. It also freezes well, too, if wrapped in plastic wrap and aluminum foil.




This bread is so versatile and can be eaten as a snack, a light dessert or my favorite, breakfast! Toast two pieces in the oven until slightly browned and the ends crunchy (the slices would likely fall apart in a traditional toaster oven, but be my guest), and then - wait for it! - spread a little peanut butter on each slice. Ring, ring! Hello, who is it? It's your stomach and brain calling, and they have just simultaneously passed out from the lip smacking fusion of the holy trinity of taste and deliciousness. The Cajun holy trinity has nothing on this combo.

A few notes. With the bananas, it's really important that they be very ripe simply because it makes them easier to mash, plus they are much sweeter when they're more ripe. Some good black speckling on the peel is a fine indicator. I sliced them up into chunks and use a pastry cutter to do the mashing, or you could also use a blender or a fork. But they have to be pretty well mashed for this to work. A few little solids here and there won't cause a problem. Also, instead of the plain low-fat yogurt, I use low-fat vanilla yogurt just to add that little extra pop. Plus, I use real eggs and not the egg substitute. You could also sub in some whole wheat flour, a teaspoon of cinnamon, a smidgen of vanilla extract, etc. Whatever your little heart desires.

Five Minute Chocolate Cake in a Mug

Don't laugh. You know you want to make this yourself. That's a pretty tempting title and now you're intrigued, aren't you? Of course, you could have been one of the 2,394,042 people who received this recipe in an email forward and a message something along the lines of, "OMG you have to try this! It is SOOOOO cool and it really works!!" Normally when I get an email with a message that sounds like a chain letter, I delete it. But naturally, I was drawn to the recipe because I'm a sucker for chocolate, and especially chocolate that can be made into cake form in less than five minutes AND doesn't even require an oven. I'm all about simplicity. And somewhere deep inside, I secretly hoped this recipe wouldn't work. I don't need to be five minutes from a hunk of chocolate cake. It's not good for the waistline. But after trying this, I am sold. And I may need to invest in some pants with an elastic waistband.

Five Minute Chocolate Cake in a Mug

4 tablespoons self rising flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons Hershey's cocoa (regular or dark)
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoon oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
a splash of vanilla extract (optional)
cooking spray for easy clean up
1 large coffee mug or hot chocolate mug


Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add vanilla extract and coat the chocolate chips with flour (if using, this will prevent the chips from collecting on the bottom.), and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes in a 1000 watts microwave. Adjust time if needed. The cake will rise over the top of the mug a little, but don't be alarmed. Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

*snort* Like chocolate chips are ever optional. Whatever. That's funny. So anyway, I was chuckling to myself as I put this concoction together. I kept thinking that there was no way this would work out - it was just too simple! But as the ingredients gradually came together I realized this was starting to resemble actual cake batter. It was precisely at that moment that I knew I was in big trouble if this actually creates an edible cake. And did it ever. I am so in trouble. It's really, really good.

Don't you just want to jump through the computer screen and take a huge bite? Yes, you do. Because there is easily enough for two (or three) people to dive into this thing. I did coat the chocolate chips with flour but they still sunk to the bottom of the mug after cooking. And regarding the mug, I used the biggest one I have. It's probably 5.5" tall with about a 3.5" wide mouth. I'm just estimating here, but it's bigger than your run of the mill coffee mug. When it was baking, the cake rose up over the top by about an inch, but there were only those small drips down the side. And you'll see there is a mention of cooking spray in the ingredient list but no mention of applying said cooking spray to the inside of the mug before you add the ingredients. I think the spray would work, although I didn't use it and all I had to do was run a knife around the outside edge of the cake to loosen it enough for the cake to plop out (with the exception of the chocolate chips). I think I would apply the cooking spray, mix the ingredients in a separate bowl and then pour into the mug. That might work.

The texture of the cake was pretty spongy and not quite as moist as a box cake mix would be. The taste was good. Like, really good. For the minimal effort that goes into the recipe, the taste delivers tenfold. No, it's not Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker, but it works well in a pinch. If you need a quick chocolate fix or you have a birthday girl/boy coming over on short notice, whip this up. You can even throw on some icing and pop a candle in the top. Make it. You know you want to. I'll even share my elastic waistband pants with you.