It’s All Chocolate! All Month! in the LunaCafe OtherWorldly Kitchen. As usual during the Month of Love, I am covered in chocolate: milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, white chocolate, and unsweetened cocoa powder. All in an effort to come up with the most delectable, memorable Valentine’s Day dessert ever.
This year, I want to create several homey, comforting chocolate desserts that are both out of the ordinary and easy to make. Nothing fancy that takes hours to make or breaks the bank. It has just been that kind of year.
Last week it was Mexicano Chocolate Ebelskivers with fragrant cardamom, ancho chile, cayenne, and Mexican vanilla. I pushed the whole adventure over the top by filling some of the ebelskivers with Burnt Caramel. But in essence, these are pancake balls, both fun to make and fun to eat.
This week I supervised a bunch of bananas over several days as the skins turned first a speckled brown and then eventually almost black. I feared I was letting them go too far near, but needed the peak of full banana flavor for this tea loaf. Otherwise, the dark chocolate would steal, rather than share, the limelight.
When I tasted the batter, it was lovely, deeply chocolate with the haunting essence of banana. But it needed an additional counterpoint.
So in went a generous measure of freshly grated ginger, a hint of cardamom, and enough white pepper to leave a lingering heat on the palate after the last bite.
The result is exceedingly delicious, out of the ordinary, and, yes, memorable.
But the aspect of this tea loaf that surprises me most is its keeping quality. The texture, moistness, and flavor improved each day for nearly a week, right up until I ate the last comforting, chocolaty bite.
Chocolate, Banana & Fresh Ginger Tea Loaf
This is the most unusual banana bread I have ever created. I love the spicy heat from both the grated fresh ginger and the freshly ground white pepper. The hint of cardamom complements the chocolate exceedingly well.
vegetable spray
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons King Arthur unbleached, all-purpose flour (5 ounces)
½ cup high quality, unsweetened, NATURAL PROCESS (NOT alkalized) cocoa powder (1.2 ounces) (tested with Scharffenberger cocoa)
1¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
½ cup sugar
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, cool room temperature, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
1½ cups mashed, very ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)
2 tablespoons peeled, finely grated fresh ginger (1 ounce prepared)
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper (or less if you don’t want the heat)
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- Set an oven rack in the middle of the oven with plenty of room above it and preheat the oven to 350°.
- Coat an 8½- by 4½-inch (5-6 cup capacity) loaf pan with vegetable spray and then a light layer of flour, tapping out any excess flour that does not cling to the pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In another large mixing bowl, using a large whisk, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Stir the mashed banana, grated ginger, white pepper, and cardamom into the batter.
- Add the flour mixture to the batter, and with a large spatula, combine gently but well. No flour should remain visible in the batter.
- Spoon the batter immediately into the prepared pan, and set in the center of a preheated 350° oven.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes. If the loaf is pulling away from the edges of the pan, immediately pull it from the oven. Hopefully you will catch it before this point. Over baking this bread makes it dry.
- Let the loaf cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before turning it out of the pan to cool completely. Cut into slices to serve.
- To store, wrap well in two layers of plastic wrap, and store in a cool dry place.
Makes one 8½- by 4½-inch loaf.
More LunaCafe Chocolate Cakes + Tea Loaves
- Bittersweet Chocolate & Cabernet Butter Cake
- Chocolate Almond Pound Cake
- Heavenly Chocolate Beet Tea Loaf
Plus
I Love Hearing from You!
Please leave a comment. Include your blog URL so CommentLuv will automatically link to your most recent blog post. And join me at LunaCafe on Facebook for daily adventures in the OtherWorldly Kitchen. Let’s get cooking! …Susan
Copyright 2012 Susan S. Bradley. All rights reserved.
jean
I’m always looking for ways to recreate banana bread. I’ve used chocolate before but never ginger, and I love the idea. Also, your ebelskivers are gorgeous! I bought an ebelskiver pan a few months ago and have not yet used it. (Maybe it’s time to stop watching those YouTube tutorials and actually try them myself!) Love this banana bread.
heather
I absolutely love the chocolate and banana pairing, and I bet the spices put it over the top!
Jameson Fink
I really like all these savory, spicy notes (cardamom, white pepper, ginger) as a counterpoint to the banana and chocolate. I once interned with a pastry chef who would use all kinds of unexpected ingredients (lavender, black pepper) that really changed how I looked at dessert.
Miranda
What a flavor combination you have going on! I bet it’s insanely delicious! I could take down a piece of this that’s been warmed and buttered right now. lol
Kristen
Pairing fresh ginger with chocolate–brilliant!
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pamela
Hi Susan, I’ve tried several of your recipes and I love your website and inspired creations. This spicy chocolate ginger loaf is really awesome and I’ve done it twice, relishing every morsel!
Susan S. Bradley
Pamela, you have made my day, thank you. So glad you are enjoying the recipes. I love that cake too. 🙂
Lena
Just to make sure I understand it correctly: You used a NON-Alkalized cocoa powder in this recipe, like Hershey’s, as opposed to a Dutch-process (alkalized) cocoa? Thanks.
Susan S. Bradley
Yes Lena, that’s correct. The cocoa powder for this recipe should NOT be alkalized. Happy baking! 🙂
Matthew
WOW Looks awesome. I am going to have to knock up a batch.
Thanks for the detailed overview of the production method 🙂
Matthew