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Dark Chocolate Coconut Banana Bread… birthday part 1 (lightened up)

My husband had plans to take me out for my Birthday Dinner this past Friday.  It was a surprise and I love surprises. dark chocolate coconut banana bread 131

Not knowing what he had in store for the weekend, I sent him an email Friday afternoon suggesting that Saturday was going to be a gorgeous day and perhaps we can go for some Afternoon Tea and watch a movie.  dark chocolate coconut banana bread 090

He assumed I meant instead of our Friday night plans, let’s celebrate my birthday on Saturday.  Uhhhh… no!  And then we went back and forth. dark chocolate coconut banana bread 118

Me: OMG, I’m not saying let’s do one or the other, I’m saying let’s do both days.
He: I can’t do both days, I’ve been out the past 2 weekends.
Me (in my head): Men are so LAZY!!!!!
Me: Fine.  Then let’s just stick to tonight’s plan.
He: Tomorrow sounds fun too, Afternoon Tea + Movie.  It’s your birthday weekend, so let’s celebrate both days.  Changed my mind.  dark chocolate coconut banana bread 126

Saying I was excited is an understatement, but unfortunately when Saturday rolled around, I ended up taking a 3 hour nap in the afternoon, hence my Afternoon Tea date that I suggested didn’t quite go as planned, but we did end up going for a movie that night.  dark chocolate coconut banana bread 137

I suppose that’s what I get for being greedy. Devildark chocolate coconut banana bread 149

Moving on to Birthday Cake… since most food bloggers end up baking their own cake, here is a healthy Dark Chocolate Coconut Banana Bread I baked that Parita recently recommended on her blog.  Although the bread tasted good, it was a bit too dry in my opinion.  I guess I was sorta expecting cake at the end.  Oh well.  dark chocolate coconut banana bread 176


NUTRITION: Whole Wheat Pastry Flour is a good source of Fiber and Protein.  Bittersweet Chocolate Chips add some Antioxidants to this beverage.  Bananas are a very good source of Vitamin B6.  They are also a good source of Vitamin C and Fiber.  Coconut is low in cholesterol and sodium, and it is a good source of fiber.  Although coconut contains high amounts of saturated fats, not all saturated fats pose as a health problem, especially those linked with coconut.  Coconut Oil contains Lauric Acid which helps in increasing good HDL cholesterol.  Coconut Oil is also beneficial in weight loss by controlling the blood sugar levels.  The saturated fats in coconut oil are not as harmful as the saturated fats seen in vegetable oil.  With that said, coconut is a saturated fat and should be eaten in moderation.




APPROXIMATE NUTRITION PER SERVING (yields 10 slices @ 350 degrees):

  • Calories: 312 cals
  • Fat: 15 g
  • Saturated Fat: 9 g
  • Carbs: 44 g
  • Protein: 6.5 g
  • Fiber: 4.2 g



INGREDIENTS (original recipe from Tasty Kitchen, my version slightly modified below):



DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.preheat
2. Grease a loaf pan with butter.dark chocolate coconut banana bread 177
3. Heat the chocolate chips over a double boiler.dark chocolate coconut banana bread 180
4. In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients… flours, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.dark chocolate coconut banana bread 182
5. Check on the chocolate – once it is melted, let it cool.dark chocolate coconut banana bread 184
6. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the eggs and packed brown sugar.
7. Mix for a few minutes until you achieve this mocha color.
8. Add the Greek yogurt, coconut oil, and mashed bananas.  Mix until well combined.
9. Slowly add the dry ingredients – I did this in 3 batches.  DO NOT OVERMIX.
10. Batter.
11. Add unsweetened coconut flakes and fold in.
12. Batter with coconut flakes.
13. Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan.
14. Pour the melted chocolate all over the top.
15. Using a knife, swirl in the chocolate.
16. Top with 2 tbsp of coconut flakes and turbinado sugar.
17. Into the oven for 50 to 60 minutes.  I baked mine for 55.
18. Done!


VERDICT: 3.5 / 5
Both my husband and I enjoyed the taste of this bread, but the coconut most definitely dominated the flavor of this bread despite that I lowered the coconut amount.  We both thought the bread tasted better the next day, but I still didn’t think it was moist enough.  I actually skipped adding 1 1/2 tbsp of coconut oil and added more Greek yogurt to compensate for the missing oil.  Regardless, I believe this bread probably needs more yogurt or bananas (healthy options) to compensate for the lack of moisture, or simply cut down the white flour by a 1/4 cup.

TELL ME: Have you ever baked bread?  What’s your favorite kind of bread-like cake?



Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Khushboo says

    Birthdays that fall on a Friday or Saturday definitely call for a full weekend worth of celebration…I'm guessing your hubby didn't get the memo ;)! This bread looks delish although I'm surprised it wasn't moist enough- I've always been pleasantly surprised by the texture of banana breads that I've made in the past!

    Reply

    • honeywhatscooking says

      K – I'm with you on that. He didn't get it… lol, but I keep it real and told (whined) him. It was surprising to me too, maybe I can try again, but skip adding so much coconut.

      Reply

    • honeywhatscooking says

      Haha.. since I was just baking for 2 and I was trying to be relatively healthy, I baked bread instead of cake. Watch what I have in store for this weekend – going to celebrate part 2 with my family, hence I'll go crazy with fat. 🙂

      Reply

  4. Akila says

    Wow wow wow… So u enjoyed ur birthday at the core n just love the conversation ungad with ur hubby… N I just live baking banana walnut bread eggless version… N btw need to try urs if adding coconut in it…

    Reply

    • honeywhatscooking says

      Thanks Akila! Glad you enjoyed our convo… I probably sound so abrupt, but I'm sweet too. 🙂 This turned out well, but not sure why it wasn't moist enough… maybe I should cut down on some flour.

      Reply

  5. Ameena says

    A 3 hour nap! I love it. I haven't done one of those since…about 8 years ago when Maya was born? 🙂

    So funny how I am not a fan of surprises. I need to be in control at all times. Drives Ali's crazy.

    Happy Birthday again! Hope you had a great day.

    Reply

    • honeywhatscooking says

      LOL! Yes, 3 hours.. ohhhh don't scare me. I love to sleep, and if I'm sleepy in the middle of day on a weekend, I usually take that nap. Oh wow.. you don't like surprises? I love them… they don't happen often around here so it's nice to have them a few times a year. Thanks so much Ameena.

      Reply

  6. Amelia Grace says

    your 3 hour nap caught my attention too, that's great!
    I am obsessed with Banana Bread. I make it and also try it in every cafe. But never tried with chocolate…
    Good to hear you enjoyed your birthday. What movie did you see?

    Reply

    • honeywhatscooking says

      LOL! Man, what is up with the 3 hour nap? You guys make it sound like once you have kids, no more naps? Really??? I love banana bread, I wanna make a banana bread next time that is super moist, no chocolate, no coconut. We saw "yeh jawani hai diwani." Awesome movie! Go see it!!!

      Reply

  8. Natalie G says

    Hope you had an awesome bday. I had to pin this lovely bread recipe because it looks way too amazing to NOT make. I love all the ingredients in this one!

    Reply

  9. Dixya says

    Hope you had an awesome day 🙂 i been thinking about this bread too – looks delish. thanks for the tips on making it more moist. hope you are feeling better

    Reply

  11. Eat Good 4 Life says

    That is just so sweet. I like surprises too but I don't get many 🙂 The bread looks really good. I have not made a chocolate and banana bread combo but this one looks really yummy. I am still to make those amazing looking jalapeno popper sandwiches you made a while back. Maybe while in Spain since it is really hot and I don't feel like I want to use the oven much. It will be the perfect place to whip some up 🙂

    Reply

    • honeywhatscooking says

      Miryam… while in Spain, forget jalapeno popper sandwiches, make tortas and all… it would be great to learn some authentic Spanish recipes and share with us on your blog. I bet you will come up with great recipes since you are of Spanish origin (jealous). The bread was good, just a bit dry. 🙂

      Reply

  15. Eva @ Eva Bakes says

    Happy belated birthday! Thanks for being honest in your review. I probably would have added Greek yogurt or some applesauce to help the cake become less dry. Mmm, now I want some chocolate bread.

    Reply

  17. Nisha says

    Happy belated birthday Nisha! Looks you had a great birthday weekend (it's okay to be greedy on special occasions :D) …Jawani Deewani was a good choice 😀

    Reply

    • Nisha says

      Yep I did, the weekend it released. Stood in line for two hours first time for a movie – it was definitely not THAT worth it, but was good entertainment for sure 😀

      Reply

    • honeywhatscooking says

      Yeah, it doesn't look dry. Next time will add more banana. haha.. it was a fun Friday night, but I think I was probably starting to get sick by Saturday, hence why I passed out. Thanks Shumalia!

      Reply

  22. Hash cakes says

    Many Many happy returns of the day 🙂

    Wishing you a wonderful day and year ahead.

    Keep cooking and posting. Your cake recipe are the best and so easy to follow and make.

    Reply

    • honeywhatscooking says

      Thanks Hash. That's so sweet of you to say, I try my best to cook as often as possible, but sometimes it's hard to cook and post while working. I love blogging though, will keep doing it while I still love it. Thanks for your sweet comment.

      Reply

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