Why can't I find a good bunch of bananas in New York City? They often come in plastic bags and turn from hard-as-a-rock green to peel-splitting ripe in no time flat. I assume NY bananas come from the same (very distant) land as my LA bananas, right? I've tried switching to pears and apples for my daily mid-morning snack, but they're messy and not nearly as filling.
The upside to a fruit bowl full of overripe bananas, however, is banana bread. Last Saturday, I was also craving chocolate and remembered my friend Emily making a delightful Orangette banana-chocolate concoction last summer. Well, I had no chocolate in the cupboard, but I did have Nutella. I also had an overripe pear--the more, the merrier, right? I threw a large scoop (about 1/2 a cup?) of Nutella in the batter, as well as chopped pear bits. As soon as the bread went in the oven, I looked at my counter and realized I--doh!--hadn't added the requisite sugar. Thanks to the gooey swirls of sweet hazelnut spread, this wasn't a problem--in fact, sans sugar it seemed less ridiculous to eat the bread for breakfast every day this week.
Click here for the full original recipe. I admit I was skeptical regarding the lack of butter or oil, but high banana content (plus my pear I think) provided plenty of rich, moist flavor.
7 comments:
I've seen recipes for low-fat breads and muffins that use a jar of baby food pears instead of oil.
Yours sounds better...
Thanks for the shout-out! Your variation looks pretty delicious and I'm glad to see that you're finding time to bake amid the papers and exams. Hope you're doing well- we miss you in LA!
Can't go wrong with that!
I don't know why but Nutella has always scared me
did you know that there is a fungi that is killing the bananas that are imported into the US and there is a food chance that bananas as we know them will be gone forever in the next few years. NPR is full of all kinds of info.
The Bread with the Nutella looks great.
Banana- the Fruit that Changed the World- did you catch that book a couple weeks ago on NPR? Among other more disturbing info (the real meaning of Banana Republic, the stuff shayne said, etc.)the author explains why you sometimes get those fruits that go from rock green to mush rot in a couple days. The bananas were mishandled in shipment.
I am going to give your nutella/banana bread a try. I have half a jar that just doesn't seem to disappear in my pantry.
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