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.

Browned Butter Caramel Banana Bread

I'm always on the search for finding ways to use up overripe bananas in a more creative way than plain ol' banana bread. Banana and chocolate? Done it. Banana and peanut butter? Always a winning combination. This weekend I brainstormed and came up with a new combination to try: banana and caramel.

I had so many leftover bananas that I knew I'd have to make a loaf of banana bread based on my favorite recipe from a friend. The recipe uses an overabundance of bananas to create a super moist and flavorful loaf. The secret trick is to leave some of the banana chunks intact for surprise bites of banana goodness. Starting with that as my base I brainstormed ways to incorporate caramel flavor. My first plan was to make some caramel syrup and swirl it into the batter, but that alone didn't seem indulgent enough. Raiding the cupboard I found some Heath milk chocolate toffee bits to mix into the batter. OK, that's a step in the right direction but what's next? Then I remembered how the browned butter chocolate chip cookies I made a few months back had a distinct caramelized flavor thanks to that browned butter so I decided to brown the butter called for in this recipe. A genius idea, if I may say so myself.

The banana bread is definitely a step up from the usual. The caramel flavor is subtle, which makes it all the more fun when you hit a toffee bit or a bit of the caramel swirl and get a real burst of flavor. I'm very happy with what I came up with and even happier that I finally got rid of those nasty-looking bananas on my counter.

Caramel Filling
Recipe adapted from Sprinkle Bakes

1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons heavy cream, at room temperature

1) Melt the sugar over medium heat in a large pot. With a wooden spoon, stir the sugar as it melts and cook until it becomes a deep amber color.

2) Add the butter and salt and stir it in until melted.

3) Pour in the heavy cream (mixture will foam) and whisk until you get a smooth sauce. You may have some lumps but keep stirring until they have melted. Remove from heat and let cool while you make the banana bread.

Banana Bread

1 cup of sugar
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs whisked
1 1/2 cups self rising flour
4-7 whole bananas (overly ripe and mashed up with a few un-mashed chunks left in)
3/4 to 1 cup chocolate-covered toffee bits (optional)

1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a loaf pan with butter or spray and lightly flour.

2) Heat butter in skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat.

3) Combine sugar and melted butter in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add vanilla extract and stir.

4) Mix in eggs and stir until thoroughly combined.

5) Add the flour in three additions and the mashed banana in two additions, beginning and ending with flour. Stir until just combined. Fold in optional toffee bits.

6) Pour batter into prepared pan. Drizzle caramel on top and swirl into batter with the tip of a knife. Bake 50-70 minutes. The more bananas you use the longer it will take. Test bread by inserting a butter knife into the center to see if batter sticks. Continue to bake until no batter sticks to knife.

7) Cool completely in pan on rack. Once cool, invert onto rack and serve.

Pretzel-stuffed Chocolate Chip Banana Cupcakes With Peanut Butter Frosting

Since we now have the added expense of my husband's fancy new/old car I'm trying to crack down and put us on a real budget so we can rebuild our savings. As part of that savings plan I'm trying to use up what we already have on hand before I go out and buy more. While I might have preferred to try one of the fancy new recipes I've discovered at Pinterest I instead made an effort to come up with something fun using ingredients I already had in the house. Not to mention that I've had some overripe bananas browning on the counter for over a week. Thus was my latest cupcake creation born.

I used my trusty banana cupcake recipe and the melt-in-your-mouth peanut butter buttercream recipe from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes. My unique twist came in the form of adding some chocolate chips to the cake batter and a delicious pretzel nugget at the center of each cupcake. Trader Joe's sells some peanut butter-stuffed pretzel bites that are then coated in a thick layer of chocolate and they are amazing. Sweet and salty heaven in a bite-sized serving! I, being the cheap person that I am, instead found a knockoff version at Aldi for a fraction of the price and stocked up when they were selling them a few months ago. I'd say they are just as good as the original and just as dangerously addictive.


As expected, the cake baked up nice and fluffy and the peanut butter frosting was a great match for the banana flavor. The best part is that the pretzel remained crispy and added a nice surprising crunch to each cupcake. While I won't make these on a regular basis because I'm loath to part with more of my pretzel bites they were a fun experiment and the flavor combination was as appealing as I'd imagined.

Pretzel-stuffed Banana, Chocolate, and Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson


1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used melted butter)
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana (about 2 large)
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
12 chocolate covered peanut butter pretzel bites

1) Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 cupcake wells with paper liners.
2) In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt.
3) In a bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, and eggs until smooth. Add banana and vanilla, beating well. Add flour mixture, beating until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.
4) Scoop about one tablespoon of batter into each cupcake well. Place one pretzel in the center of each cupcake and top with remaining batter until covered. Bake in preheated oven 22 to 28 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack.

Peanut Butter Frosting
Recipe from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson

2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp heavy cream or milk

1. In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together confectioner's sugar and butter until creamy. Add peanut butter, beating well, Add milk and beat until smooth and creamy. Pipe onto cupcakes.

Chocolate Bottom Banana Bars

Looking for an alternative to plain old banana bread to use up those aged bananas? Look no further than these chocolate banana bars: a layer of chocolate banana batter on the bottom topped with a layer of banana cake, sprinkled with chocolate chips. These are delicious as is but next time I might try adding cinnamon to the plain banana cake layer and mixing extra chocolate chips into the batter. They'd also be tasty with chopped nuts. Easy, peasy recipe to whip up. Need I say more?

Chocolate Bottom Banana Bars
Recipe from Moogie & Pap

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 3 medium bananas)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13-inch pan.

2. In mixing bowl, combine flour, soda, baking powder, and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg, vanilla, and bananas, beating thoroughly.

4. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat until combined.

5. Divide batter in half. Add the cocoa to one portion of the batter. Spread that portion in the bottom of the pan. Spoon remaining batter on top, swirling gently with butter knife if desired, and sprinkle with chocolate chips.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until batter tests done with a toothpick or fork. Cool and cut into squares.

Mmmm! There's Nothing Like Freshly Baked Banana Bread

Alright, I know there's nothing particularly special or exciting about yet another banana bread recipe. I'm sure you've already got your tried and true favorite. I, however, didn't have one until this past weekend. A friend of ours had his wife bake up a loaf of her delectable banana bread and mailed it to us. Once I tasted it I knew I had to have the recipe for myself. I think the trick to hers turning out so darn tasty is the quantity of bananas she uses. She really overdoes it, adding twice as many as I've seen other recipes call for. Although this does add to the baking time the end result is a deliciously flavorful and moist loaf of banana bread. Another tip she gave was to leave some of the banana chunky and not fully mashed. It was a lovely surprise to encounter a bite with an actual hunk of banana. If you love bananas as much as I you'll probably love this recipe too.

I whipped up my very own batch on Saturday and am pleased that my results were almost as good as hers.

Banana Bread

1 cup of sugar
1 stick melted butter (1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs whisked
1 1/2 cups self rising flour
5-7 whole bananas (overly ripe and mashed up with a few un-mashed chunks left in)
1/2 cup pecans (optional, pieces or whole...your choice)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a loaf pan with butter or spray and lightly flour.

2) Combine sugar and melted butter and whisk to combine. Add vanilla extract and stir.

3) Mix in eggs and stir until thoroughly combined.

4) Add the flour in three additions and the mashed banana in two additions, beginning and ending with flour. Stir until just combined.

5) Fold in optional pecans and raisins.

6) Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 50-70 minutes. The more bananas you use the longer it will take. Test bread by inserting a butter knife into the center to see if batter sticks. Continue to bake until no batter sticks to knife.

7) Cool completely in pan on rack. Once cool, invert onto rack and serve.

It's That Time Again

Time for another round of voting in Sweetest Kitchen's Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge. The theme ingredient this month was white chocolate and there are some fantastic entries. While there's no need for me to actively rustle up votes like I did last time since I can't win the prizes, I'm sure some of you will be as interested as I in seeing what folks came up with and snagging some new recipes. That said, if you happen to find the time to vote for my "White Chocolate, Nutella and Banana Cupcakes" while you're there it certainly wouldn't hurt my ego. Also, if you're feeling extra charitable, you could vote for my friend's delicious-looking entry: "White Chocolate Passion Cupcakes by Tara," the last one on the list. Since so much of it comes down to how many friends/family members you can get to vote for you I figured I'd do my best to get her a few extra votes. That and her cupcake really does look unique and divine:












Other entries that have made it to the top of my list include:

White lime cupcakes filled with lime curd








Chai cupcakes with Toblerone white chocolate frosting. Wish I'd thought to try Toblerone as it's right up there with Nutella as one of my favorite childhood treats.






White chocolate molten lava cupcakes with white chocolate ice cream. Although not baked in a cupcake pan I'll accept this entry if only for the tasty-looking white chocolate ice cream recipe. Anyone who makes everything from scratch like that is cool in my book.



So stop by Sweetest Kitchen before August 26, check out the entries, and cast your vote. If you're interested in entering yourself the competition is open to anyone. Just check back after the first of the month for the next theme ingredient. Can't wait to see what I'll be experimenting with next!

Banana, Nutella, & White Chocolate Cupcakes

Nutella: the food of the gods. I grew up with the stuff, getting my own jar each Christmas as a special gift from my German relatives. This was before it could be found in every supermarket in the States so it was a real treat for us. My mom not only allowed but encouraged us to try it in unique ways: on sandwiches, paired with fresh fruit, or simply by the spoonful. It remains one of my favorite treats not only because it's delicious but also because it reminds me of my childhood.

A few weeks ago I did a little throw down between white chocolate versus regular chocolate frosting paired with peanut butter cupcakes. But why should the two chocolates be forced to compete when they could just as easily work together? Thus was born one of the zaniest cupcakes I've ever come up with. So indulgent that even I began to wonder if I'd gone too far. Because banana and chocolate is such a winning combination, why not combine banana, white chocolate, and Nutella for an over-the-top blending of flavors?

White chocolate's been on my brain (and too frequently in my belly) all month as I've tried to come up with the ultimate white chocolate cupcake for Sweetest Kitchen's Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge, and this cupcake really takes the cake. It's an ooey, gooey melding of flavors, each delicious in its own right but even better when combined. My masterpiece begins with a flavorful and moist banana cake with dollops of Nutella baked in. The filling is a refreshing white chocolate cream cheese with fresh diced bananas and the frosting is a swirled blend of white chocolate buttercream and Nutella buttercream. I went the easy way out for the swirled effect and just "painted" the side of a pastry bag with each frosting and piped away.

Sure, it's indulgent but you can treat yourself once in a while. The Nutella gods would approve. As will the folks you pay your gym membership to after you realize how many calories you just consumed.



You can check out my other white chocolate cupcake experiments here on my blog:

• Peanut butter cupcakes frosted with white chocolate buttercream


• Peach cupcakes with a white chocolate ricotta mint filling topped with whipped white chocolate ganache


• White chocolate Cosmo cupcakes


• White chocolate bread pudding cupcakes studded with cranberries and homemade toffee bits topped with a whipped cream white chocolate frosting

Good luck to all the other entries. Can't wait to see what everyone's come up with!

Banana Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana (about 2 large)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Approx. 1/3 cup Nutella

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 12 cupcake wells with paper liners.
2. In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a mixing bowl, mix together sugar, oil, and eggs until smooth. Add banana and vanilla, beating well. Add flour mixture, beating until combined.
4. Scoop batter into prepared pan. Top each cupcake with approx. 1 1/2 teaspoons of Nutella and swirl in with a toothpick.
5. Bake 22-28 minutes or until edges are brown and spring back when touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack.

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling
Recipe adapted from Emeril Lagasse

2 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1/8 cup milk
2 ounces cream cheese
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 banana, diced

1. In the top of a double boiler, combine the white chocolate and milk. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring until the chocolate is melted. Let cool to room temperature.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and vanilla. Gradually add the cooled chocolate and beat until smooth. Chill in the refrigerator 2 hours before filling cupcakes.
3. Cut a cone out of the top of each cupcake and discard (or, if you're me, eat). Fill the cavity with a few pieces of diced banana and a spoonful of cream cheese filling.

White Chocolate Buttercream
Adapted from BBC Good Food

1 3/4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 - 1/2 cup powdered sugar

1. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler, stirring often. Cool.
2. Beat the butter and powdered sugar until creamy. Beat in the chocolate and continue to beat at medium-high speed until fluffy.

Nutella Buttercream
Adapted from French for Cupcake

2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2-3 teaspoons heavy cream

1. Cream together the butter and Nutella until blended.
2. Add the powdered sugar gradually until ingredients are combined.
3. Mix on high speed, adding cream until frosting is smooth and creamy.
4. Using a spatula or flat butter knife, "paint" one side of a pastry bag with the Nutella buttercream and the other side with the white chocolate buttercream and pipe evenly onto cupcakes.




The winner of August’s Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge will receive prizes from:

• Bake It Pretty; $5 electronic gift card


• Beanilla; 3 Indian + 3 Tahitian vanilla beans & a jar of Ground Vanilla


• CT2Designs; a cupcake ring


• Miss Kitty Creations; a cupcake charm of your choice


• Sweet Cuppin Cakes; a prize pack worth $25

Thank you to all our prize sponsors!


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