Double Chocolate Banana Coconut Bread

Today I’m going to reveal yet another crazy thing about me.

I don’t like weekends! Did I just hear you fall of your chair?! I kid you not. I dislike weekends. I always have. That part about it that is fun, unstructured, relaxed. Yes, that part. I dislike unstructured. I am deeply bonded to my routines and to being occupied. THAT relaxes me. So, when the weekend comes around and most people are lounging about, I am getting antsy. Now, I don’t have a full time job these days. I am a freelancer so work of my own schedule but it was hard getting to this point of being disciplined all by myself and in the time that it took me to get used to this, I did drive myself crazy. I still do sometimes. It’s hard, this self discipline business.

I like my own structure so much that it is hard for me to like anything else. Therefore the dislike for weekends. I mean I like how I take a shower every morning at the same time, or call a dear friend almost always precisely at the same time too. I like that. Offer this information and i get a stern finger and a lecture is not far away either! That its bad for me to isolate myself. But who’s to say they are right? Mondays are yay! days for me… 🙂

So yay today in honor of the much disliked Monday. You have one friend right here!

This is an amazingly simple recipe and honestly who doesn’t have over ripe bananas at their house at any given time???

adapted from smitten kitchen

3 medium very ripe bananas + some for decoration
115 grams butter, melted
155 grams brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup coconut flakes + 1 tbsp for decoration
1/4 tsp salt
125 grams all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
170 grams dark chocolate ( I used 70%)

to prepare
Preheat oven to 175°C/350°F. Butter a 9×5-inch loaf pan and sprinkle with flour.

Mash bananas in the bottom of a large bowl. Whisk in melted butter, then brown sugar, egg, and vanilla. Place baking soda, salt, cinnamon (if using), flour and cocoa powder in a fine-mesh strainer and sift over wet ingredients.  Stir dry and wet ingredients with a spoon until just combined. Last stir in the coconut.

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate.

Pour the batter into a prepared pan. Pour on top the melted chocolate and swirl into the batter with the back of a spoon. Place sliced banana on top and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon coconut flakes. On top of it at all sprinkle with some cane sugar. Bake 55 to 65 minutes, until a tester or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out batter-free. Cool in pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and invert it out onto a cooling rack. Serve at room temperature. Tastes fantastic with some vanilla ice cream. Oh yum!

The banana bread will keep for up to 4 days at room temperature. But as the talented Smitten Kitchen says, it will definitely not last that long and she is not wrong!