Chocolate Chip Banana Bread - Can't Get it From the Banana Stand

It's long overdue. It's been ages. A blog post from me about baking something. In a tiny or maladjusted kitchen somewhere in NYC. Well, in this case it's a compact kitchen with no real counter space. I just moved to this kitchen, err, apartment in a sunny part of the city and what made me take this place over the others that I saw was the kitchen. The potential of the kitchen to be a great kitchen for someone who loves to bake and to cook.

This kitchen has a full sized stove and a large fridge. Just no counter space...yet. For the moment, I make do with a kitchen island and creative use of the stove top.

The final product. Yum.

I inaugurated the kitchen today, on a mild summer day, by using my toaster oven to bake some Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. My bananas were going soft and the weather was cooperating, so there I went, balancing bowls on burners, keeping an eye on softening butter on top of the fridge, and making sure I mixed and blended and leveled and poured without a mishap.

Here's the recipe I adapted from Epicurious:

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
Juice from half a small lemon

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Before it goes in the oven

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9" x 13" loaf pan.

Mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt in a medium bowl. Keep aside. Cream the softened butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the bananas, lemon juice and vanilla to the egg mixture. When well mixed, add the flour mixture and blend until well incorporated.

Spoon half the mixture into the loaf pan, sprinkle half the chocolate chips on top and swirl in with a knife. Add the remaining batter, smooth and then sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips. Once again, swirl with a knife.

Bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until when a toothpick is inserted, it comes out clean. Enjoy with a large glass of cold milk, or like I did - with a cold beer (Aventinus is delicious with chocolate chip banana bread).