Banana Bread With Chocolate And Nuts

Source: Bon Appetit, Feb. 2000

Ingredients

• 1½ cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• ¼ teaspoon Salt
• ¾ cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• ¾ cups Walnuts, Toasted, Chopped
• ½ Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 Large Eggs
• 1 cup Ripe Bananas, Mashed
• 2 Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1½ teaspoons Vanilla

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 9x5x2½ inch metal loaf pan. (I used a glass one with these measurements and it overflowed!) Whisk first 4 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Combine chocolate chips and walnuts in small bowl; add 1 tbsp flour mixture and toss to coat.

Beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating until well blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in mashed banana, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Beat in flour mixture. Spoon ⅓ of batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of nut mixture. Spoon ⅓ of batter over. Sprinkle with remaining nut mixture. Cover with remaining batter. Run knife through batter in zigzag pattern.

Bake bread until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 5 minutes. Turn out onto rack and cool.