Ooey Gooey Banana Nutella Bread

Some recipes you see and just have to make immediately. Impulse baking, if you will. This was one of those recipes, although I'm sure the dreary, rainy weather contributed to my desire for a warm, freshly baked treat.

Now, I've made Nutella banana bread in the past and liked it well enough. But this recipe takes that idea to a whole new level with the use of 3/4 cup of the stuff and the ingenious idea to mix it with a little of the batter to help it mix in and bake up better. Not surprising that it should be so deliciously laden with Nutella as I got the recipe from a girl who received a 12-pound jar of Nutella as a present and documented the various ways she used it up. I dream of receiving a gift like that, although I can also understand the great responsibility and heavy burden that comes with such a dispensation.

Do I really need to say more to convince you to try this recipe? The Nutella bits are wonderfully chocolatey and the entire cake is moist and full of flavor. What more do you need to hear?

Nutella Banana Bread
Recipe from Nutella Every Day

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups mashed ripe banana
1/3 cup skim milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 heaping cup Nutella

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8×4-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda & salt.

3. In a separate large bowl, beat sugar and butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, milk and vanilla. Beat until blended.

4. Add flour mixture, beat at low speed just until flour is incorporated (don’t over mix).

5. Spoon Nutella into a small dish and soften in the microwave for about 15 seconds. Add 1 cup of the banana bread batter to the Nutella and stir until blended well. Spoon Nutella batter alternately with plain banana bread batter into the prepared pan. Swirl batters together with a knife.

5. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, it will seem a tiny bit undercooked but that’s what makes it good. Cool for at least 15 minutes in the pan, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.