Banana Coconut Chocolate Chunk Bread

There is a joke going around about how I rarely make a recipe without adulterating it -- it's like some sort of compulsion. Another twist on this disorder is that I often research something and combine 3-4 divergent recipes into one dish. Why is cooking sometimes stressful in my world? perhaps because I don't just take on one unknown, but often a few at a time. The results can be either brilliant or catastrophic but it's always an adventure!

My boyfriend left some bananas browning on my counter. He said he'd take them home but kept forgetting. As their age spots started to equal the amount of yellow left on them, I decided to take action. I found a simple foolproof ancient banana bread for the basic chemistry of baking involved and had every intention of keeping to the recipe. But by the time two ingredients were in the bowl, I'd already strayed. Luckily, it turned out brilliant beyond my wildest hopes.

It has a crunchy crust due to the larger stone ground flour I added and the large flakes of toasted coconut which made it chewy/lightly crunchy. I also used up organic chocolate chips that had melted together into an amorphous blob in the heat one day. The chocolate chunks being larger and less consistent than chocolate chips made for bites of crunch and bites of melted, gooey bliss -- almost like a lava cake. I recommend using the graham flour and coconut large coconut flakes I did (available at Natural Food/ Health Food Stores or online) as I believe that really 'made' the texture. Those products are linked in the ingredients list.

Banana Coconut Chocolate Chunk Bread

INGREDIENTS
3 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 tsp butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup graham rustic stone ground whole wheat flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
6-8 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar or other chocolate that can be smashed into larger chunks
1 cup large unsweetened coconut flakes (I used Bob's Red Mill)

Needed:
1 large mixing bowl
wooden or other mixing spoon
saute pan
hammer or rolling pin to smash up chocolate into rough chunks

METHOD
No need for a mixer. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. In a saute pan melt 1 teaspoon of butter, put in coconut and brown over medium heat. When it starts to get a light yellow glow, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of brown sugar in and toss it over the heat. Remove from heat. Take chocolate bar still in the wrapper, wrap it in a kitchen towel and smash with either another pan, a hammer, or a rolling pin. You want the chunks varied and not too small, about the size of quarters and some nickels would work. Add the flour to the wet mixture in parts and mix. Add the toasted coconut in and the chunks of chocolate and blend. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Remove from pan by turning over onto another surface or large plate, let cool a bit and slice.

God Bless Haagen-Dazs

Hail and jubilation, I've been sampling one of the new HD feature flavors and two of their limited flavors. What a tough tough job! HD released their ad campaign for two of their flavors over a year ago in magazines and I've been looking for them in stores ever since. Finally I found them AND some other amazing surprises.

This weekend called for :::drum-roll:::::: Banana Split, Caramelized Pear & Roasted Pecan, and Mayan Chocolate. I barely controlled myself enough to leave the Belgian Chocolate behind on the shelf but I wanted one of me to be writing this review rather than two. Besides...is it fair to pit the Belgique ice cream against that of a lost civilization? Sacrilege!

First the Banana Split ~~ I've had several varieties of Banana Split ice-cream but this is by far my favorite brand of it. Well actually Haagen-Dazs is my favorite ice cream brand period but especially in this flavor. The creamy, rich banana and whipped cream ice-cream has large swaths of rich fudge ribbons throughout it and bits of marchino cherries and strawberries. Often a banana split ice-cream doesn't have enough chocolate to keep me interested and the banana-flavored ice-cream is quite weak. Not so with H.D., the banana/cream ice-cream is almost even pungent and aromatically strong in banana flavor but mellowed by the cream and the rich, fudgy chocolate is the highlight. The small pieces of frozen banana really just add texture for me while the fruity marchino and red-berry strawberry flavors make it come alive.

Next Caramelized Pear and Roasted Pecan: This ice-cream won Gourmet Magazine's flavor search award by beating out 4,999 other flavors. It's pear ice-cream with chunks of caramelized pears and toasted pecans. First, the pear ice-cream is advertised as a "deep pear flavor" and it is but there is more to it. The more I eat of this ice-cream, the more I also taste an almost sour cream or buttermilk flavor. And there is that small, grit of pear to it also which gives it tooth and texture. The pear chunks are icy and the roasted pecan loses part of its natural crunch in the freezing process but still has a good texture from the freezing.

Finally the Mayan Chocolate. Oh how long have I waited to come across it in stores! First tastes: mmmm rich, chocolate ice-cream then....is it getting richer? It was. There are also fudge swirls in it. Next -- a cinnamon finish -- almost to the point of leaving a bit of fire in the back of my throat. You don't need much and I tend to eat this in small spoonfuls than many ice-cream flavors but it is that rich and flavorful.

Perhaps the most interesting point to make is how these ice-creams have changed or mellowed as I've left them in the freezer and tasted them again--not so much the banana split, it has remained virtually the same. But the Pear Pecan ice-cream got a little more sour and the Mayan Chocolate, a bit less spicy and the texture of it changed from being so so creamy to almost tasting more like a chocolate ice.

Finally, I recommend trying ALL of these flavors and I recommend a tasting party with a spoon of each in small bowls for your friends. I would personally start with the Banana Split, move on to the Pear Pecan and finish with the Mayan Chocolate. Give them a couple of minutes on the counter to come to the right consistency before serving and voila!! A perfectly exotic dessert with a unique balance of flavors!