Moist Banana Bread Recipe

My recipe for moist banana bread.

As many of you know, my boyfriend is both a chef and a pastry chef. Over the years, he has alternated between both careers, so this makes it difficult to tell which he is better at. He is just so good at doing both. That being said, sometimes I get a bit cocky in the kitchen and taunt him on occasion. There are times when I think I’ve made the best dinner of my life, making an audible sound each time I take a bite, and he just stares at me like “who am I dating?” When I ask him to tell me how good the meal is, he usually just says "it’s good” or “it’s fine”. If you know me, you know I need to be PRAISED. Like “holy shit, Katherine, this is the best banana bread I’ve ever had in my life. I can’t go another day without knowing the recipe. Will you be the godmother of my children?” praised.

When Jan tried my banana bread for the first time, he said, “This is the best banana bread I’ve ever had in my life.” Mission accomplished.

Scroll down for my recipe for moist banana bread.

Enjoy! 

Moist Banana Bread

Katherine in Paris

Moist Banana Bread (with or without chocolate)

The recipe

• Time: 3 hours

• Yield: 1 loaf

• Cuisine: American

• Keywords: chocolate banana bread, banana bread, moist banana bread

Ingredients

• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda (aka bicarbonate alimentaire)

• ¼ tsp salt

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, room temperature

• ¾ cup (150g) light or dark brown sugar

• 1 large egg

• ⅓ cup (80g) plain greek yogurt or sour cream

• 4 large ripe bananas, mashed (browned bananas work best)

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• ¾ cup (100g) chocolate chips (I suggest using half semi-sweet, half milk chocolate)

Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). Butter a loaf pan and line with parchment paper. Grab two large bowls (if using a standing mixer, use mixing bowl).

Step 2

In one bowl, combine and whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

Step 3

In mixing bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until creamy. Add in egg, beat until incorporated.

Step 4

Scrape down sides of bowl. Beat in yogurt, mashed bananas, and vanilla.

Step 5

Scrape down sides of bowl and slowly beat in the dry ingredients.

Step 6

Once just incorporated, fold in the chocolate. (You can lightly coat the chocolate in flour before folding in to ensure the chocolate doesn’t sink while baking).

Step 7

Put batter into loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes. Covering it with foil after 30 minutes.

Step 8

Let cool and wrap with plastic wrap to retain moisture. Enjoy!

Notes

Use parchment paper to prevent sticking to pan.

To make extra chocolatey, you can omit half the chocolate chips and instead grate in 50g of semi-sweet chocolate.

I was unable to buy chocolate during the first two days of the lockdown in Paris, so I used leftover Kinder mini-eggs as chocolate chips—it was fantastic.