Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Once again, Joy the Baker has brought something wonderful into my world. Anything with "chocolate" in the title twice is worth baking, am I right?! This bread is almost chocolate cake-like...the perfect thing for the day after my birthday! It was deliciously amazing. I loved finding those melted bits of chocolate. It was like gold! Eating a slice with a glass of cold milk was perfection. Kevin really liked it as well though he says it's equal to "normal" banana bread. I almost wouldn't qualify it as banana bread. I think of it in a chocolate category all it's own.

It's like cake you can eat for breakfast!

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 ripe bananas, mashed

3/4 cup buttermilk

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9×5 inch loaf pan (or two mini loaf pans--2x6") and place it on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets one on top of the other. This extra insulation will keep the bottom of the bread from overbaking.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

Working with a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed for about a minute until soft. Add the sugars and beat for 2 minutes more. Add the egs one at a time, beating for a minute after each addition. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the mashed bananas. Add the dry ingredients in three additions, mixing only until they disappear into the batter. Still on low sweep, add the buttermilk, mixing until it is incorporated. Stir in the chopped chocolate. Scrape batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 3o minutes. Cover the bread loosely with a foil tend to keep the top from getting too dark, and continue to bake for another 40-45 minutes (total baking time is between 70 and 75 minutes), or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for at least 20 minutes before running a knife around the edges of the bread and unmolding it. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.