Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Nutella Toffee Banana Bread

There's nothing like the smell of banana bread baking to make me happy. I started craving it after going to Starbucks the other day and trying a piece of their bread. Ick. I was not a fan, it was a bit bland for my liking, and kind of stale (it was late afternoon though). So, home I went to bake my own. I found a recipe over on the recipe girl website that incorporates a swirl of Nutella, and I had some heath "bits o brickle" toffee chips lingering in my cupboard, so I threw those in too. I baked the bread in my mini loaf pan (inherited from my grandma), the bread came out perfect, except that I had never used the pan before and overfilled the loafs so they started creeping over the top of the pans, but no harm done, just a little uneven on top! Strong banana flavor, rich chocolate hazelnut swirl, and buttery crunchy toffee sprinkled throughout. Waaay better than Starbucks, and cheaper too!

Nutella Toffee Banana Bread
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 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana
1/3 cup low fat yogurt (choose your flavor, I tried maple, it was good! But plain would be delish too)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup Nutella (chocolate-hazelnut spread)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 8×4-inch loaf pan or 12 mini loaf pans with nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate large bowl, beat sugar and butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add banana, yogurt, toffee chips and vanilla; beat until blended.
Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until flour is incorporated (don’t over mix). Spoon Nutella into a medium 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 (or pans if you have mini ones). Swirl batters together with a knife. If using mini loaf pans, bake for 30-35 minutes, if using a regular size pan, bake 60 to 70 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Check the oven about three fourths of the way through cooking time to check the top of the bread for browning. If it’s browning too quickly, cover lightly with foil for the remainder of the baking (I had to do this). Cool for at least 15 minutes in the pan, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
I wrapped the extras in parchment paper and tied with twine to give as presents.
Rich chocolaty swirl...
Hope you all have a beautiful Valentines Week!
Linking up at Tasty Tuesdays, and Rook #17

29 comments:

  1. This bread looks wonderful. I am a big fan of banana bread. Nutella just adds to the wonderfulness.

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  2. Nutella and some toffee bits.....yep...needs a moment of silence for it's glory. ;)

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  3. Yummy!!! This is on my to do list today, the best part is that I have everything, yes!

    The Farm Girl

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  4. I love Nutella. I love bread. I gotta' try this! Thanks so much for stopping by. I really hope you will visit often. (If, as an English teacher, I was in charge of grading this...well, I would fail. I am all about I! Anyway...thanks for the visit.

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  5. Oooh, mixing Nutella, toffee and banana must be fabulous! This looks SO good! More like dessert : )

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  6. Oh my - this sounds delicious! Anything that includes Nutella is good by me. Thanks so much for linking up to Tasty Tuesdays!
    Alissa

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  7. This looks delicious, and I love how you presented the loaves. Soooo pretty!
    Jan at Jewelry4Change

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  8. What a delectable combo! Sound insanely good!

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  9. Oh my Lord....I can't figure out if it is a good thing I know about this.

    I will be making this ASAP, incredible!

    I am so thrilled to have found your blog, I am going to look through more recipe's right now.

    Feel free to stop by my place!
    http://fondofthesilliness.blogspot.com/

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  10. Checking out your last few posts, and...YUM! Now following! I look forward to going through your other recipes :)

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  11. Nutella is a favorite of mine as well, though it looks like you've explored its potential to a greater degree than I have. I am new to your blog and have spent some time browsing through your earlier posts. I really like the food and recipes you feature here. I'll definitely be back. I hope you have a wonderful evening. Blessings...Mary

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  12. This looks amazing! Lovely blog!

    xoxo,

    colormenana.blogspot.com

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  13. OH. MY. HEAVENS. Wow! This looks and sounds incredible!! Thanks for sharing!!! I am your NEWEST follower! :)

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  14. Whoah! Sounds amazing! And since you made it, I know it not only "sounds" amazing, but really tasted out-of-this-world too! Thank you for always having something original, creative, and mouthwatering to share at "A Little Birdie Told Me..." Tuesday! Jenn

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  15. I have to say that, even as an employee of the sbux, I would not suggest the bannana bread (or about half our other pastries offered) after about noon. Because they are in the pastry case and also depending on how they are displayed/stacked, they dry out SO easily. I will say though that the lemon pound cake it better towards the end of the day otherwise the frosting/glaze is melty and drippy. If you happen to get a FRESH piece of banana, or pumpkin, loaf RIGHT out of the package, I promise exponentially better flavor. (it's even better warmed in the oven with a pat of butter on it. mmm) Ok, enough of the sbux-ness.

    As I was looking over the recipe and drooling myself, my boyfriend came over and asked if I was going to make these. To which I responded "hell yes. I just need to get a muffin/loaf pan." So my boyfriend, the little "bobby crocker" the he is, walks into the kitchen and pulls out a mini loaf pan. We're talking about loaves 1/3 the size of what yours look to me. They are like little cookie-loaves. I think they will be the perfect size to pack in kid's lunches or for a little afternoon snack for yourself. He said he got it at walmart a couple years ago and *thinks* it was maybe a Martha Stewart brand? I don't know how reliable that information is but I thought I'd share the idea of using a super teanie loaf pan for even smaller personal treats.

    I also think this recipe might be yummy in a muffin-top tin! mmmm.

    Thanks for the tasty treats, liz. I'll let you know how our cookie-loaves turn out. :)

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  16. Oh that pan sounds amazing! I am definitely going to be on the lookout for one!

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  17. check walmart, I'm pretty sure I've seen it there...

    these are comparable, maybe a little bigger but same idea... http://www.epinions.com/review/Martha_Stewart_Everyday_Nonstick_Mini_Loaf_Pan/content_75847929476

    http://www.mysears.com/Martha-Stewart-Everyday-Nonstick-Mini-Loaf-Pan-reviews?tab=reviews

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  18. Awesome recipe. Thanks for the inspiration. I linked to your blog from my post at Fakin it.
    http://fakinit.typepad.com/fakin-it/cooking/

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  19. Hi Liz, thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving me a comment. I have just been perusing your blog and marveling at how yummy each recipe sounds. This one, though, has me drooling!

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  20. Sounds yummy and I just so happen to have bananas that need to be used and nutella in my pantry.

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  21. I'm absolutely delighted to stumble upon this delightful recipe on your blog! Nutella Toffee Banana Bread? It sounds like a heavenly combination of flavors that I must try ASAP.
    https://www.promocodehq.com/blog/how-to-add-money-to-cash-app-card-at-7-eleven/

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  22. Your detailed instructions and mouthwatering photos have me convinced that this will be a hit in my household.

    As I was reading through your post, I couldn't help but think about how I could make this treat even more tempting.
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