Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread - Dessert on a Weeknight!

I had a little hankering for something sweet this week and when I opened up my latest Cooking Light Magazine it magically opened right to Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread.  It was meant to be!  Although I'm pretty sure that light is a relative term with this banana bread, it was totally delicious and worth every extra crunch and mountain climber I had to do to make up for it!

Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread

At first glance the recipe seemed to have a lot of steps, but it actually came together pretty quickly - a must for a weeknight treat!

Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread

5 Tbsp Nutella (See- Already delish!)

3 Tbsp plus 1 tsp canola oil, divided

3 Tbsp butter, softened

1/2 cup packed brown butter

2 medium ripe bananas, sliced

2 large eggs

6.75 ounces all purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup whole buttermilk (I used low fat cuz that's what they had at the store)

Baking spray with flour

1/4 cup hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

1 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1.  Preheat oven to 350

2.  Combine chocolate-hazelnut spread and 1 tsp oil in a microwave-safe dish; microwave at HIGH for 30 sec. or until melted.  Stir.  Combine 3 Tbsp. oil, butter, brown sugar, and banana in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until well blended.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

3.  Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Beating at low speed, add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to banana mixture; beat just until combined. 

4.  Scrape half of batter into a 9 x 5 inch metal loaf pan coated with baking spray

5.  Top with chocolate hazelnut spread mixture.   














6.  Spread remaining batter over chocolate mixture.  Using a pick, swirl batter. 













7.  Sprinkle batter with hazelnuts.  Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick comes out with moist crumbs clinging.  Cool 10 minutes in a pan on a wire rack. Remove bread and cool on a wire rack.  






8. Place bittersweet chocolate in microwave-safe dish; microwave at high for 30 seconds.  Drizzle bread with chocolate; let stand until set.  

Look at that delicious swirl of hazelnut spread in the banana bread - mmmm  mmm!

It smells so delicious that you might be tempted to cut into it while it is still hot, but it really does slice and taste better if you wait 'til it cools down a bit.  (You can do it!  Well, maybe you can - because obviously I couldn't.  That's how I know its better cooled a bit.   :-) 

I hope you had a little "sweetness" in your life this week!