Baker's Corner: Nutella Swirl Banana Bread

I am bringing you guys a really nice recipe just in time for Valentine's Day 💗

To be honest, I didn't actually make this Nutella Swirl Banana Bread for Valentine's Day. I made it over the Chinese New Year break during the first week of Feb. My kids enjoyed a slice in their lunch boxes for the next entire week. I remembered that Valentine's day is round the corner just this morning (age will do that to you) so I'm not sure if I'll be making a Valentine's dessert to mark the occasion. Anyway, if you follow me on Instagram, you will find out soon enough.

I have an amazing Blueberry Banana Bread recipe on my blog. I also sometimes tweak my favourite Zucchini Chocolate Loaf recipe by substituting the zucchini with overripe bananas. So my family is no stranger to different varieties of banana bread being rustled up in our kitchen regularly. I love how versatile most banana bread recipes are. You can usually customize it in a number of ways. 

This Nutella Swirl Banana Bread is super yummy. The incorporation of nutella puts a chocolate-hazelnut spin on a classic banana bread - what's not to love right? Serve it as dessert, an evening snack or as a lunchbox treat. This is a simple recipe that requires only a few ingredients and it is pretty much foolproof. The bread looks quite nice too. When you cut slices of the bread you can appreciate the nutella pattern. I love any recipe that incorporates the swirl technique because aside from looking good, I find it really fun to do.

I'm keeping the introduction to this post short and sweet today. I hope you try this recipe and love it just as much as we did.

In case you want more variety, take a look at some of my other Valentine's Day special dessert posts here,

Vanilla-Coffee-Chocolate Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Japanese Cheesecake

French Chocolate Mousse

White Chocolate-Yuzu Cheesecake

Nanaimo Bars

Caramel Pecan Cheesecake

Tiramisu

Wish you all a very Happy Valentine's Day

"The giving of love is an education in itself."

 - Eleanor Roosevelt

Nutella Swirl Banana Bread

Preparation time: 20-30 min
Baking time: 60 min
Total time: ~90 min
Makes: One 9-inch loaf
Recipe level: Easy
Recipe source: Adapted from here

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
2 cups (256 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring the pan
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 tsp ginger powder, Optional
1.5 cups mashed bananas, from about 3 medium overripe bananas
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 tbsp chocolate-hazelnut spread (such as Nutella), divided

Method:

1. Heat oven to 180 deg C (350 deg F). Butter and flour a 9x5x3-inch oven-safe loaf pan.

2. Stir the flour, baking soda, salt and ginger powder (if using) together in a bowl.

3. Brown butter: Melt butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Cook butter, occasionally scraping the bottom and sides of the pan with a rubber spatula until it turns a deep golden brown and smells nutty. Don’t walk away from the pan during this process. The butter will go from browned and nutty to acrid and burnt in moments. Transfer butter to a large heat-safe mixing bowl and let it cool slightly.

4. When the butter has cooled a bit, add the mashed bananas, sugar, yogurt, eggs and vanilla extract. Stir until well combined, then add the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.

5. Pour half the batter into prepared pan and spread it evenly with a knife or offset spatula. Spoon half the chocolate-hazelnut spread in several dollops over the top and use a toothpick or skewer to create a marble swirl pattern on top of the batter.

6. Spoon and spread the remaining batter over the top followed by dollops of the remaining spread. Swirl in the spread like before.

7. Bake the bread for 55 to 60 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Wait for the loaf to cool down. 

8. Slice and serve

Notes:

• Using overripe bananas will be perfect for this recipe and these bananas add more natural sweetness
• I have already reduced the amount of sugar in this recipe compared to the original recipe so this bread is not too sweet but feel free to reduce further if that suits your preference
• You can add in chocolate chips or chopped nuts of choice if you like
• You can add in cinnamon powder or grated nutmeg for more flavour
• You can use any brand of chocolate-hazelnut spread

Cheers,
Megha