These banana breads were the end-result of me roasting several of them in the oven for hummingbird cake, only to realize that I roasted three times the needed amount. I didn’t want to store these, nor did I want to throw them away, so in the spirit of 2020 baking memories that I did not really partake in(looking at you toilet cakes and banana bread), I figured, why not just make banana bread? Whenever I make banana bread, I remember my old supervisor, Sitha, from my Marriott accounting days. Sitha was the sweetest human, always looking out for me in what was a really challenging department to work in, and one of her favorite things to eat was banana bread. So whenever I was feeling particularly gracious for her existence(I mean, most days I already did because she was awesome to work with, but on days where I especially did), I would make her banana bread. Keep in mind, us working together was pre-Masterchef(and pre-COVID), so really my memories of banana bread stem from Sitha more so than the pandemic since I was probably one of a handful of bakers who did not make banana bread during that period. Also if it wasn’t a bit more apparent, a lot of my visible anxiety that aired during my first Masterchef season was probably residual from my Marriott accounting days – that’s where I learned accounting life, not for me. The day to day for me involved taking phone calls from pissed off guests who slung death threats my way for not refunding their non-refundable cancelled reservations and Sitha talking me away from any proverbial cliffs because I was terrified someone was going to kill me and/or my family. Flash forward to now, where I’m much older, less triggered, and here I am, making a riff on the very same banana bread I used to make for her!

Whenever I made Sitha banana bread, I went with a swirled chocolate-banana bread – Sitha loved chocolate, and whatever Sitha loved, I tried to use or incorporate that into the baked goods I gifted her. So I did a “zebra” banana bread, and I also used blonde chocolate, for those caramel-y notes, cacao nibs for a more bitter chocolate note, Azealia(hazelnut-chocolate), and Nutella, because banana and Nutella are a combination made in heaven. I wound up baking these mini loaves, because I was hoping that they would bake faster, but because I stuffed half a banana on top of each loaf, that did extend the baking time from the 30 minute bake I was expecting to a 40 minute bake. I will say that the recipe itself was super quick to make – make sure you own a digital scale and you measure the weight of the batter, just so that you can properly divide the batter when flavoring half with cacao powder. So long as you manage that bit, the final product is rich with ripe banana and chocolate flavor, but you can really taste the two together. And aesthetically, you know for a fact it is a banana dessert, because there is a freaking banana baked into the top of it! So if you like banana bread and/or chocolate, you will love this recipe(it is Sitha-approved, after all!).

Makes 4 mini loaves, or 8 servings:
For the banana bread batter:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
4oz unsalted butter, browned
2oz vegetable oil
2 ripe bananas, mashed finely
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
2 eggs
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder*

In a bowl, mix all of your ingredients together, minus the cocoa powder. Portion out half of your batter, and mix into that the cocoa powder to form your two batters.

For assembly:
1/4 cup cacao nibs
1/4 cup Azealia chocolate, chopped coarsely
1/3 cup blonde chocolate, chopped coarsely
2 bananas, halved lengthwise
4oz Nutella

To the non-chocolate batter, fold in the cacao nibs and Azealia chocolate. With the chocolate batter, fold in the blonde chocolate. Fill four 3-inch by 5-inch loaf pans 2/3 the way full with the batters, swirling them. Spoon 1oz of Nutella into each loaf and press in the halved bananas, flat side up, into each loaf. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes. Allow the loaves to fully cool before attempting to unmold.