Ruby Sage’s Pecan Banana Bread Topped with Chocolate

Recipe courtesy of Ruby Sage

Prep Time: 2 hr 0 min
Inactive Prep Time: 0 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 1 loaf

Ingredients

2 or 3 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/3 cup safflower oil
2/3 cup (or less) sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup pecans, chopped

2 or 3 ounces of good dark chocolate
1/2 tsp butter
3 TBS half & half or whole milk

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ inch loaf pan.

With an electric mixer, combine bananas, eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl; beat until light and fluffy.
In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and add to wet ingredients in about 3 parts. Mix with spoon or spatula after each addition until dry ingredients are moistened and flour disappears.
Fold in pecans.
Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for about one hour or until done.
Remove from pan and place on a cooling rack.

Chocolate Icing

Melt butter over low heat, add milk, then add chocolate stirring constantly until melted.
Pour chocolate sauce over the banana bread and allow to cool before slicing.

Merle’s notes: This recipe is by Ruby Sage of Victor, Montana. It is inspired by a recipe from “The Joy of Cooking.” As with so many recipes, it evolved because of taste and one or two of the ingredients not being in the house. In this case, Ruby likes chocolate chips in her banana bread. They didn’t have any so her mother, Amy, suggested using a chocolate bar and making it a topping. Ruby did, I was a guest that enjoyed it immensely and there you have it!

Amy also likes dried apricots, diced into bits, in this bread. It sounds really good to me.

Merle’s preference: I always use whole-wheat flour and sprinkle in a little flax seed and oat bran.

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