We’re rolling into this week with a sweet tooth and kicking it off with this whiskey and chocolate banana bread.
Truth be told, I made this with a little nod to St. Patrick’s Day by throwing in the whiskey. It adds just a hint of something in the background, not overpowering, but for sure there.
I would not fancy myself a banana bread aficionado – it’s not something I order often, or even make since it’s the kind of indulgence I don’t want to have lying around the house. But, as with anything, when I find a recipe I love, I don’t find the need to go shopping around for something better.
It’s why that, no matter what lists come out every year touting “the best chocolate chip cookie,” I never veer from Smitten Kitchen’s. Always a hit. Always a fan favorite. Look no further, friends.
As for banana bread, I can’t help but look to my local bakehouse for what I’ve deemed the best, and lucky for all of us, their recipe just happens to be available in their cookbook! So here we have it, with a few healthier adaptations that I’ve added myself. I don’t find these healthifications detrimental in the slightest.
What makes this particular recipe unique? It uses the WHOLE banana – peel and all! You’re probably thinking, ew…and why, but think about all the hundred, nay, thousands of pounds of waste that come from banana peels! This is an attempt to minimize that carbon footprint and also pack in a little extra fiber. Eating peels is kind of a thing actually- just google “banana peel bacon.”
One point of clarification first –
What is the difference between whiskey and whisky?
The same difference that is champagne vs. sparkling wine. Whiskey-with-an-E means that it comes from Ireland or the United States and has to do with how many times it’s distilled. Whisky-without-an-E hails from elsewhere. For more background on distilling matters, read these words.
What ingredients do I need for whiskey and chocolate banana bread?
- super ripe bananas, peels black, frozen and thawed.
- good ole Irish whiskey
- large eggs
- unsalted butter
- baking basics: flour, sugar, baking soda, vanilla
- a dark chocolate bar, cut into chunks and slivers. Trader Joe’s pound plus is my go-to bar for everything baked chocolate.
How do I prep bananas for banana bread?
The best way to prep the bananas and their peels for this bread is the old-fashioned way – put them on the counter and have nature do its thing until they are nice and black or at least have a good number of black spots. If you want to speed up the process, put them in a brown paper back, clipped shut and they should be ready to go in a few days. Finally, take them a step further by freezing them overnight and thawing them on the counter before giving them a good blitz in the food processor.
Trust me, this peel-in banana bread is truly a-peeling!
Whiskey and Chocolate Banana Bread
Equipment
- 1 9 x 5 inch loaf pan coated in butter and sugar
Ingredients
- 2 (290g) very ripe, black bananas frozen overnight and defrosted
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, large at room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla
- ¼ cup Irish whiskey
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 cup chopped dark or semisweet chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Place the thawed bananas plus liquid into the bowl of a food processor. Blitz until smooth (you'll see dark pieces of peel- that's okay!).
- In a medium bowl, add the banana puree, sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla and whiskey. Whisk until well combined.
- To the banana mixture, add the flour, baking soda and salt. Fold together using a spatula or wooden spoon until well combined. Mix in the chocolate chunks.
- Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake 55-60 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.
- Let cool in the loaf pan for 15 minutes before turning out to finish cooling on a wire rack. Store at room temperature for about a week, or freeze for up to two months.
