BLACK SESAME CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD

Banana bread is synonymous with my childhood. It was literally one of only two things my mom ever baked, so we ate banana bread quite often. My mom never really got adventurous in the kitchen, so the banana bread she made was very basic. But from the way it made the house smell while it baked, to smearing a slice with butter while it was still warm from the oven, banana bread is one of those foods that I can’t help but find delight in. I am the complete opposite of my mom in the kitchen however, and thankfully my hubby is game for all of my experimenting in the kitchen. This black sesame chocolate banana bread is the result of my most recent kitchen adventure and let me tell you, it knocks the socks off of any other banana bread we have ever eaten!

This is not the first time I’ve used black sesame in a baked good (see these mini bundt cakes) and it will not be the last. Black sesame has a rich, nutty flavor that is deeper than its white relative – and its signature flavor just happens to go really well in baked goods and desserts. For this banana bread, toasted black sesame seeds get ground and blended with honey to create a smooth paste, similar to peanut butter in texture.

Although the black sesame paste is totally black in color, it will not yield a black colored bread, the result would be more of a gray color. I really wanted this banana bread to be black, so taking note from my past baking experiments, I turned to black cocoa powder, not just to add its signature black color to the bread, but also its deep chocolate flavor.

Ingredients

FOR THE BANANA BREAD:

• 1 1/2 cups flour (I used einkorn)
• 1/4 cup black cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar (unrefined sugars works well) + 1 tbsp reserved
• 1/3 cup black sesame paste (see below)
• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (4-5 bananas) + 1/2 banana for top of bread
• 1/2 cup neutral oil (I used avocado oil)
• 1/4 cup non-dairy milk + 1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar (or use buttermilk)
• 3 tbsp toasted black sesame seeds, divided
• 1 tbsp vanilla

BLACK SESAME PASTE:

• 1/3 cup toasted black sesame seeds
• 1/3 cup honey

Instructions

FOR THE BLACK SESAME PASTE:

• Put toasted black sesame seeds in a food processor & process until almost all the seeds have been ground into a powder
• Add honey to the black sesame powder & continue to process until mixture turns into a thick paste
• (this will make more paste than you need for the recipe, store remaining paste in a glass jar at room temperature)

FOR THE BANANA BREAD

• Pre-heat your oven to 350F degrees
• In a bowl, whisk the flour, black cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda & salt together until well combined
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs & sugar together until light, add the black sesame paste & continue to beat until well combined
• Mash the bananas with with a fork until smooth & add to the bowl of the stand mixer along with the oil, milk & vanilla - mix until well combined
• Add the dry ingredients into the wet in three additions, mixing in between additions - once batter is just blended together, add in 2 tbsp black sesame seeds and mix to incorporate the seeds into the batter
• Lightly grease a 9"x5" metal baking pan & line it with a sheet of parchment paper
• Pour the batter into the baking pan, top with remaining 1 tbsp sesame seeds, the banana slice & then sprinkle the whole thing with 1 tbsp sugar
• Bake in the center of your oven for 60-70 minutes, until...
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