{TWD} The Black and White Banana Loaf + Bonus variation loaf

[update 8/7/08:I finally cut the rest of the bread, and love how the marbling turned out!]

I volunteered to bring the food for our book discussion group this Thursday. I figured this week's challenge, the Black and White Banana Loaf, would be perfect for our coffee-and-dessert gathering (well we have some cheese and fruit and such for those who come straight from work without dinner, but the desserts generally rule).

I've devised a fabulous and very healthy Whole-Wheat Blueberry Banana bread that I make regularly for breakfast. When my bananas get (over)ripe I mash and measure them, drop the mash into freezer bags and I'm ready for baking time. My freezer had several cups of bananas but I had no real idea how much to use for the 1.5 bananas Dorie calls for.

A bit of research (thank you Google) turned up differing estimates on how many bananas per cup - anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 cup for 1.5 bananas, I guess because banana size can vary so much. So I planned to use 2/3 cup for a single loaf, but after reading the P&Q and finding that people were having trouble with runny batter, I actually used a smidge less.


Never one to leave well enough alone, I had the great idea to make an additional loaf for my husband, who is allergic to chocolate. Coffee/Banana came into my mind and would not leave. Even when I realized that my husband is out of town, so I could cook and enjoy a chocolate dessert without guilt. Call me a glutton for punishment, but I went ahead with the plan. Except I concluded that half a loaf for him would be ideal (limited freezer space). And a full Chocolate/Banana loaf for the group.

So, that's 1.5 x Dorie's recipe (except for the ingredients for the chocolate, which are not increased). Then mix the batter, divide into slightly unequal halves, then split the smaller half into two parts (2/3 chocolate and 1/3 coffee). A spreadsheet might have helped (a la Engineer Baker). IF I had any idea how to do a spreadsheet.

In the end I calculated the ingredients in my head and wrote them on a sticky note which I put on the cookbook page, covering the original ingredients so I wouldn't accidentally revert to their authority. I weighed the batter on my kitchen scale to get the halves, two-thirds, and one-thirds roughly correct. My scale is not that accurate and this little exercise drove me to order a new digital scale - click here for all your scale/weighing needs (thanks again, Google).

Aside from the math test aspect, the recipe came together beautifully. Gotta love the stand mixer. And the details Dorie provides: "The batter will look curdled and it will continue to look curdled as you add ingredients." Check. I followed the instructions religiously; nutmeg, rum, lemon juice, lemon zest, it all went in.


I've never marbled, so I studied all the alternative methods in Dorie's book before deciding on the spoonful technique. The chocolate batter was a lot thicker than the banana. The coffee batter was thin (I added a heaping teaspoon of instant coffee to half a tablespoon boiling water for the half loaf). I scooped with the spoon and then zigged and zagged with the knife. No way of knowing how it worked until it was cooked and cut.


My mom always made amazing cranberry bread and used long slim aluminum loaf pans. One year my dad surprised me on my birthday with two of these loaf pans that he'd picked up somewhere. I have a lot of loaf pans but these are my absolute favorites. The bread cooks evenly and the slices look pretty with straight up-and-down sides. I have some similar smaller pans that are great for 1/2 recipes.

I baked the loaves at a slightly lower temperature (especially since I suspect my oven runs a bit hot) so they would cook through and not brown too fast. Based on the early comments in the P&Q, I tented the pans after the first 30 minutes, but I actually wish I hadn't. I would have liked to have the loaves a bit browner on top, especially since I froze them (I think the moist tops will be sticky when they thaw).

Curiosity almost killed me! I couldn't wait to see the marbling. Finally the loaves cooled and I could cut them. The chocolate turned out great.

The coffee loaf didn't have as much contrast and the marbling was more 'mixed', I think because of the thinner batter.


The Verdict:
These were really lovely loaves. Veritable marvels of marbling! As far as flavor, nothing 'stood out' – despite the various flavorings, nutmeg, lemon, rum, banana – the cake didn’t taste overly-anything to me. It was just right. Great texture and nicely moist. And really pretty marbling.

The banana coffee loaf was also quite good - the flavors got along nicely.

Thanks to Ashlee of A Year In The Kitchen for choosing this week's recipe, which she'll post at her site, or you can find it on page 232 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours. (The book is amazing. Buy it now!) Check out the other versions of this recipe by visiting the 230+ other TWD bakers.