Hazelnut Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread

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Author: Delphine Fortin
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 50 mins
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 1 loaf (8 servings) 1x
Category: Quick breads
Diet: Vegetarian

Hazelnut chocolate chunk banana bread is a very nutty banana bread prepared with hazelnut flour, toasted hazelnuts and big dark chocolate chunks.

Ingredients

Scale

1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour
½ cup (60g) ground hazelnut meal*
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1 pinch of salt
¼ cup (60g) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
¾ cup (150g) caster sugar
1 large egg
3 very ripe bananas
½ cup (120ml) buttermilk**
3.5 ounces (100g) dark chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (75g) whole hazelnuts, roughly chopped***

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease bottom and edges of a 9×5-inch (23×13 cm) loaf pan. Set aside.
Sift flour, and add it to a large mixing bowl together with ground hazelnuts*, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add hazelnuts and set aside.
In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar. Mix in the egg. Puree the bananas with a fork and add them to the mixture. Pour in the buttermilk.**
Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating until incorporated. Do not over mix.
Fold in the chocolate chunks and bake for about 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before serving. For an additional final touch, drizzle with melted chocolate and sprinkle extra chopped hazelnuts all over.

Notes

* You can either use finely ground hazelnut meal or make your own hazelnut meal. To do so, simply process raw hazelnuts in a food processor until finely ground. Easy, right?

** Make your own buttermilk is very easy. Just measure one Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar), and cover with milk until you reach ½ cup. Stir, and let sit for 5 minutes before using.

*** For a more sophisticated version, you can toast the hazelnuts before using. In this case, place the whole hazelnuts (not chopped) in a medium skillet over medium heat and toast until golden brown and fragrant, about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer the hazelnuts to a clean kitchen towel, then, using the towel, gently rub the nuts to release their skins. Chop them roughly and add to the banana bread as instructed in the recipe.