Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread

I can’t take full credit for this recipe, but let me tell ya’ it is gooooood. Probably the best banana bread I’ve ever had, no lie.  The original recipe is from Cooking Light, but I have made a few adjustments. One thing about me: I very rarely follow a recipe to the letter. I just can’t seem to handle it.  I always make some sort of adjustment or substitution. That’s probably why I’m not the most skilled baker.

That being said, I think this recipe benefited from my changes, so take that Cooking Light! One change I made that you could totally do without is using oat flour for half of the flour.  Making oat flour is a pretty simple process, but you can easily just use all whole wheat flour. I do find that it adds a nice lightness to this recipe though.

Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oat flour (see directions below)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar (ok – so not the healthiest ingredient but spread out over a loaf it’s not so bad…)
1/4 cup butter, softened (you can also use substitute)
3 mashed bananas
1 egg
1/3 cup plain non-fat yogurt
1/4 cup cocoa powder
non-stick cooking spray

1.) Preheat oven to 350°.
2.) In a blender, process 1 cup of rolled oats until it forms a fine powder. It should look like regular flour.
3.) Combine the sugar and butter in a large bowl and mix with a mixer until well combined (about 1 minute). Add banana, egg, and yogurt then beat until blended.
4.) Add the oat flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until well combined.
5.) Remove about 1 cup of the batter and place into another mixing bowl. Add the cocoa powder and mix.
6.) Pour the non-chocolate mixture into a greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Swirl in the chocolate mixture by spooning it in “blobs” on top of the plain batter. Use a butter knife to swirl the batters together.
7.) Bake for 1 hour then check it. It may need another 10-15 minutes.
8.) Remove loaf from oven then allow to cool in pan. Once it is no longer hot, remove from the pan and eat!
* I store it in the fridge, but you probably don’t have to. I just feel like banana bread should be kept cool. Don’t know why.