Soft and Moist Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
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I went bananas
If you want a chocolate chip banana bread that’s extremely moist, soft, tender and full of chocolate, this is the one you need to make!! I used cake flour for an ultra fine and light crumb and bittersweet chocolate chips to balance out all the sweetness from the bananas and the brown sugar. Sour cream and oil is what makes this banana bread ultra moist. This cake is so simple I promise you’ll have it on repeat!
What so special about this banana bread? It’s made with cake flour, which typically is a big NO for loaf cakes or quick breads, such as. And if you’ve been around here for a while, you know I’m not a banana bread gal. But, as a professional content creator who shares things that nobody asked, it’s my responsibility to develop excellent banana bread recipes with my point of view for you, that’s why my Honey Banana Cake and Jumbo Banana Chocolate Marble Muffins are a total success and so loved by you. Now, in my quest to keep developing the best iterations of banana bread, I wanted to make one with cake flour for an ultra soft and fine crumb.
The thing is that, because of the way a loaf cake is baked and its typical ratios of dry and wet ingredients, it’s definitely best to use all-purpose flour. It has a higher amount of protein than cake flour, and it’s that protein which helps in giving this type of cake a good structure. So using cake flour is a big NO. But I did it anyway, of course, and the result was a banana bread that is not as heavy and dense. It’s light and plushy and so good, I’m all on board for it. Especially as breakfast! I used just a bit of all-purpose flour to help with the structure of the cake.
This recipe only uses 2 bananas, so no need to be hoarding a lot of them for baking. These 2 are enough to give this quick bread a subtle banana flavor without being overpowering, which is one of the things I don’t like in some banana breads out there.
It also has so many chocolate chips that it’s like eating a loaded chocolate chip cookie!! It’s like lots of chocolate chips hold together only by a bit of dough, or in this case banana bread! I used bittersweet chocolate chips from Ghirardelli which I strongly recommend, they are larger and the bitter taste really elevates this cake, you need to give it a try like this! But you can use semi-sweet as well.
Read below how you can put together this super easy banana bread!
How to make a super soft Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Start by preparing your 9” x 5” loaf cake pan. You can use baking spray, coat the inside with butter or line it with parchment paper. When using parchment, I like to still use a bit of butter as a “glue” to stick the paper to the sides and still rub a bit over the paper or lightly spray it with baking spray.
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, just to incorporate everything. Do not sift the flours.
In a large bowl mash the bananas roughly, then add the rest of the ingredients. If using frozen ripe bananas, please make sure you remove all the liquid from them. Pat them dry a little if necessary.
Add the dry ingredients and mix. And remember always adding chocolate chips in a folding motion. Add some extra chocolate chips and some sliced almonds, chopped pistachios or walnuts on top. If you want to add some nuts to the batter, reduce the amount of chocolate chips by half. If you don’t do this you’re risking the cake not baking properly.
Transfer to the pan and bake for 55 minutes in 325°, then increase oven temperature to 350°for the last 10 to 15 minutes. Since this batter has so much moisture, these last minutes are to make sure the cake is cooked through. Always test through the center, and remember that melted chocolate chips can make the cake look still raw. Keep poking on areas where you don’t get the chips, or at least barely of them.
Let the cake cool down for at least 20 minutes so it doesn't crumble when cutting. Still, this cake is so tender it will probably crumble a little at the top.
Shop the Post
A large pretty mixing bowl is always a must. I couldn’t resist this pretty one with a butterfly on front from Jerrell Guy collection for Anthropologie.
Ceramic loaf pans make any baked goods look with that rustic homemade charm. The one I used here is an oldie also from Anthro but I also love my Emile Henry French Ceramic Loaf Pan, in yellow of course!
These pre-cut parchment papers are the ones I use and they need to be in your kitchen. They make life so much easier!
My electric Kitchen Aid handheld mixer always gets the job done!
I used Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips here. Love their size for this cake!
Many have asked what’s the cake flour I use, and is King Arthur’s unbleached cake flour. Remember this is NOT the same as self-rising.
Please let me know how much you love this chocolate chip banana bread!! Hopefully it’s gonna be one of your new favorites from now on! Tell me in the comments below.
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Soft and Moist Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Ingredients
◯ Cake flour, preferably unbleached - 2 cups, 300g
◯ All-purpose flour, preferably unbleached - ¼ cup, 40g, plus less than a teaspoon for coating the chocolate chips
◯ Bittersweet chocolate chips - 1 ½ cup, 252g
◯ Baking powder - 2 ¼ Tsp, 10g
◯ Fine sea salt - ¾ Tsp, 5g
◯ Ripe bananas - 2, 171g
◯ Dark brown sugar - ½ cup, 89g
◯ Natural granulated sugar - ½ cup, 110g
◯ Vegetable oil - ¾ cup, 155
◯ Large eggs - 3
◯ Sour cream - ½ cup, 120g
◯ Cardamom - ¼ Tsp, 2g
◯ Vanilla extract - 1 Tsp
◯ Demerara or turbinado sugar, sliced almonds, and extra chips to cover the top (optional) - about a tablespoon of each
Details
Yield:
a 9” x 5” loaf pan
Total time:
1.5 hour
Active time: 10 minutes to make the batter
Baking time:
1 hour to 1 hour with 15 minutes
Equipment:
parchment paper, loaf cake pan, stand mixer or electric hand mixer
Steps
Preheat oven to 325°.
Grease, spray with baking spray or line with parchment paper a 9” x 5” loaf pan. If lining with parchment, rub a bit of butter on the sides and bottom of the pan as a “glue” for the paper. Optional to rub a bit of softened butter or lightly spray a bit of baking spray inside the pan as an extra precaution.
In a small bowl combine the 1 ½ cup of chocolate chips with the teaspoon of flour until the chips look well coated.
In a bowl gently mix the 2 cups of cake flour, the ¼ cup of all-purpose flour, the 2 ¼ teaspoon of baking powder and the ¾ teaspoons of salt with a hand whisk, just to incorporate everything. Do not over mix and do not sift.
In a large mixing bowl put the 2 ripe bananas. Roughly mash them with the beaters of your mixer, until there are no large lumps. Add the ½ cup of dark brown sugar, the ½ cup of natural granulated sugar, the ¾ cup of oil, the 3 eggs, the ½ cup of sour cream, the ¼ teaspoon of cardamom, the teaspoon of vanilla, and mix in medium high speed until well blended, about 2 minutes. Incorporate the flour mixture and mix in slow just until most of the flour is combined (you should see some large streaks of flour). Add the chocolate chips covered with flour and with a wooden spoon or silicon spatula fold the chips into the batter just until the chips look well distributed.
Transfer batter to the prepared pan, filling only about ⅔ of it. Depending on your pan, you may have about ¼ cup of batter left (do not throw it out and make 2 cupcakes or 1 jumbo muffin). Cover batter with some Demerara sugar, sliced almonds and extra chocolate chips, trying to leave the middle of the cake clear as much as possible. Bake for 55 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 350° and bake 10 to 15 minutes more, until a toothpick comes out clean from batter when you insert it throughout the center of the cake. Poke at different spots and as deep as possible to make sure it’s done. Remember you can get melted chocolate in the toothpick, so clean it and poke in another area if you need to make sure.
Let banana bread cool down in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes before cutting. Ideally wait a couple of hours before eating so all the flavors are settled down. Only if you can wait!
