Marbled Banana Bread

I like your standard, plain banana bread as much as the next person—which is to say, I could take it or leave it. What really floats my boat is banana bread with chocolate chips. There’s just something about banana and chocolate together—it’s one of those classic combinations. I almost feel guilty that I’ve been making this crazy good marbled chocolate banana bread for several years and have never shared it with you. Whenever I bake a loaf, its beauty is immediately destroyed as soon as it exits the oven because it’s almost impossible to resist a warm, fresh slice. It never lasts long enough for photos. But I made a point of preserving this loaf at least until it was fully cooled and photographed so I could finally, at long last, post the recipe.

What we have here is a pretty standard banana bread recipe. It’s lightened up with nonfat greek yogurt, and an egg plus some liquid egg whites. I’ve also used white whole wheat flour, which is camouflaged really well here. In banana bread, I find the mild nuttiness the whole wheat adds is welcome. To make the chocolate portion, you simply melt semisweet chocolate chips and mix them with a portion of the batter. Swirl the regular and chocolate batters together and bake. Just over an hour later, you’ll have a beautiful loaf of banana-and-chocolate deliciousness. For its incredibly moist crumb, perfectly crunchy crust, and rich chocolate swirl, this banana bread gets top honors from me.