My mom has been making this banana bread for years. It shows up at almost every picnic, family gathering, or meal where we’re bringing something along. It’s also her favorite way—as it is for many people—to use up those soft, overripe bananas sitting in the fruit bowl on the counter.
This banana bread, the version you’re seeing here, came together almost by accident this week when I stopped by my parents’ house and helped out in the kitchen—which mostly means I photographed my mom cooking and posted it to my stories.
When she realized Friday night dinner was just around the corner and the cake still wasn’t in the oven, she handed me the recipe from her yellowing notebook and asked me to make it.
It was my chance to make a few small changes—but really just a few. Mashing the bananas in the same bowl the cake is mixed in instead of dirtying another bowl. Chopping the chocolate into large chunks instead of tiny pieces so you get pockets of melted chocolate throughout the cake. And adding chocolate spread to marble through the batter because, as far as I’m concerned, there’s never enough chocolate. Oh, and I reduced the baking soda a little because I’m sensitive to its flavor.
Five minutes after the cake came out of the oven—soft as can be, filled with melted chocolate pockets and sweet banana—more than half of it was already gone.
You have to admit, there’s no better sign than that.
