Banana Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

This easy banana pumpkin chocolate chip bread is super moist, full of flavor and loaded with heaps of chocolate which makes it perfect for breakfast, dessert and everything in between! It literally melts in your mouth and truthfully has a flavour & texture which is unparalleled by any other recipe. This is achieved from a lot of secret ingredients I use to add that extra moistness along with maintaining that deliciously sweet and crunchy top. I’ve also added some spices to it which add an extra depth of flavour to this bread and will have you reaching for a second slice every time. It’s just that good!

Ingredients you’ll need:

• Unsalted Butter: It is very important to have your butter at room temperature. You can ensure this by lightly pressing your finger on the block of butter. It should slightly leave an imprint. I also prefer to use unsalted butter because salted butters have varying amounts of salt content in them and it is always a good idea to add it on your own and avoid your bakes from being too salty.
• Light Brown Sugar: Brown sugar helps to add moisture & softness to the bread. You can substitute this with dark brown sugar if required.  
• Pumpkin Puree: You will need chilled, 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) to mix into your batter. You can either use a canned puree or a homemade pumpkin puree. If you’re making a homemade puree make sure to drain the excess water out of it before adding it to your batter. 
• Mashed Bananas: You will need around 2 ripe bananas to make one loaf of this bread. You can mash them using a pastry cutter or a hand mixer. Make sure you don’t leave any large lumps in them.
• Eggs: Use large eggs and bring them to room temperature before mixing in. Eggs strengthen the binding of your bakes and also add moisture. Having your eggs at room temperature makes it easier to incorporate them and allow them to mix thoroughly in your bread. A good way of doing this is by letting them sit in a bowl filled with room temperature water for around 10 minutes or until they come down to room temperature.
• Plain Yogurt: I try to incorporate plain yogurt into my bakes as much as I can as it gives a more natural flavour and texture to the banana bread. It also helps to make the banana bread dense like it should be and keep it fresh longer so you can enjoy it throughout the week. The only catch is you need to make sure to drain out all the water from it if has any. You can also alternatively substitute it with sour cream or greek yogurt. 
• Vanilla: I highly recommend that you use a high quality, pure vanilla extract. This helps in giving a rich flavor to your baked goods. Pure vanilla extracts are typically dark brown in color. This enhances the flavor of all ingredients and you should never leave this out.
• All purpose flour: I highly recommend weighing all your ingredients using a kitchen scale for accurate recipe results. If you’re using cups, don’t scoop your cup into the flour. Spoon the flour into your cup and level it off with the back of a knife.
• Leaveners: To ensure that these bread rises and browns evenly, you will need to add both baking powder and baking soda.
• Ground Cinnamon: I always prefer to ground cinnamon sticks on my own and it adds a more natural flavor to the baked goods. However you can also use a store-bought cinnamon powder.
• Ground Nutmeg: I always love adding lots of spices to my bakes. But if this is not something that you prefer, you can always leave it out. However, I highly recommend adding it as it helps to enhance the flavour of cinnamon in the bread.
• Ground Ginger: You will need ground ginger to add to these pies. Spices help to add a warm flavour to baked goods making them perfect for fall.
• All spice powder: You will need ground all spice powder to add to these pies. Spices help to add a warm flavour to baked goods making them perfect for fall.
• Ground cloves or cardamom: You will need ground cloves or cardamom to add to these pies. Spices help to add a warm flavour to baked goods making them perfect for fall.
• Chocolate chips: I highly recommend using good quality couverture baking semi sweet chocolate chips or chocolate bars (I use callebaut) to ensure the best flavor. Couverture chocolates are made of cocoa butter as compared to regular compound chocolates which are made of saturated fats like oil. This will also help you get those melty pools of chocolate.

FAQ

Tips to make the best pumpkin banana chocolate chip bread:

• It’s all about the bananas. Sure, bananas are clearly the shining start of this easy quick bread, but add too many bananas and you’ll end up with one soggy loaf. The recipe calls for 2 large bananas but since bananas are tough to measure, you’ll want to be sure to measure 2/3 cups of bananas once they are finely mashed. Very ripe, brown bananas have the best texture for baking. If your bananas aren’t quite ready, wrap them up in a brown paper bag overnight.
• Do not skimp on the spices. I know, almost a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and adding along some ginger, nutmeg and all-spice might sound a lot at first and leave you holding back from adding them. I get it that you’re sceptical. All these spices blend together to form what is famously known as pumpkin spice or pumpkin pie spice. Trust me friends, they blend in so well in this pumpkin bread recipe and give it the perfectly cozy fall flavours you’re looking for!
• Measure the flour correctly. Too much flour will create a dry loaf and I may not know everything, but I do know banana bread is supposed to be the opposite of dry. For the perfect texture, measure your flour using a digital kitchen scale and whisk dry ingredients thoroughly. If you don’t have a scale, measure the flour using the spoon and level method.
• Do not over mix. Too much mixing can lead to a dense, gummy banana pumpkin bread. Keep the whisking to a minimum and gently stir the chocolate chips into the batter in just two or three turns of the bowl.
• Use room temperature ingredients. You’ll hear this rule on repeat around here and that’s because room temperature ingredients make all the difference. When ingredients are at room temperature versus cold from the fridge, they incorporate seamlessly into the batter and this prevents the need for over mixing. Less mixing means a soft, moist, tender crumb that is the hallmark of a good banana bread.
• Add extra chocolate to the top. For an extra bit of chocolate goodness, sprinkle a handful of mini chocolate chips on top of the banana bread just before baking. More is always better when it comes to chocolate. Pro-tip: to prevent all of the chips from falling to the bottom of the loaf, coat them in a teaspoon of flour before mixing into the batter. Works like a charm every time!
• Do not over bake. It’s tough to over bake chocolate banana bread but to keep it ultra moist and super tender, keep an eye on your loaf pan at the end of the baking cycle. No two ovens are the same so keep an eye on your loaf as it bakes. The bread is done when the top has risen into a pretty dome a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs remaining. If the top of the bread is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a piece of aluminum foil. To ensure your bread bakes up soft and moist, do not leave it in the oven too long. Nobody, and I mean nobody, likes a dry pumpkin bread. 
• Cool the bread before slicing. This pumpkin banana bread recipe is so moist that it will fall apart if you try to slice into it straight from the oven. It’s tempting I know, but try to wait 45-60 minutes to give the bread time to set in the center so the slices hold together. Just don’t go too far from the kitchen because it will smell amazing!

How TO GET THE BEST RESULTS FROM THIS RECIPE?

All of the recipes on the blog are thoroughly tested multiple times and carefully designed so that anyone can reproduce these delicious baked good in their own kitchen and enjoy them to the fullest. The only way to make this possible is when anyone can exactly replicate the measurements and temperatures.

• In order to standardise the way ingredients are measured, I highly recommend that you weigh them in grams. Volume measurements are nearly not as accurate and have a lot of scope for errors. To precisely be able to replicate the recipes, all you will need is a kitchen scale!
• Every oven heats up differently. Your oven might be over heating or under heating by around 50 degrees or more and you might not even know. In order to ensure that you are baking at the right temperatures, I highly recommend investing in an oven thermometer!

If you would still like to bake using volume measurements, I mentioned those below. However, I primarily test my recipes in grams and cannot promise the best results if you do so. Trust me, once you’ll start using these tools you’d never want to go back!

Enjoy this easy and crazy delicious banana pumpkin chocolate chip bread bakers, and if you make it, I want to hear all about it. Fingers crossed it becomes a favorite in your kitchen too. Also don’t forget to bookmark this recipe for the holidays!

Happy Baking! x

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