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Today is World Nutella Day! You can eat it straight from the jar but, if you want to get fancy, I’m excited to say that we’ll be featuring ridiculously delicious Nutella recipes this month. First up: Zoë of Zoë Bakes shares her recipe for Nutella banana bread. Here’s how to make it…
Nutella Swirled Banana Bread
By Zoë François of Zoë Bakes
I fell for Nutella 23 years ago while staying with a French family in Paris. It was my first time abroad and I discovered many things, one of which was that French kids were the luckiest people on earth. They sailed boats in the impossibly beautiful pool at Luxembourg Gardens—and they had Nutella. Parisian children ate the spread like I consumed peanut butter: for breakfast, on bread at lunch, and as a late-night snack. But it’s made with chocolate and hazelnuts, which are so much sexier than peanuts. We Americans have finally had a Nutella revolution of our own, and I think we’re all a bit happier for it. My house is never without a jar and I’ve spread it on just about everything. One of my favorites is on freshly baked banana bread. In this recipe, I just swirled the Nutella right into the batter and baked them together. I like to make two loaves; otherwise it disappears way too quickly. My family always eats one while it’s still warm and gooey, and the other for breakfast the next day (who am I kidding, it rarely lasts that long). Something this delicious shouldn’t be this simple to make, and yet it is. Food perfection!
Recipe: Nutella Swirled Banana Bread
Makes 2 loaves
You’ll need:
3 large or 4 medium (2 cups mashed) bananas, yellow with brown speckles
1 cup brown sugar, packed
4 oz. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. rum, optional
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup Nutella
What to do:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pans with butter, lined with buttered parchment.
Mash the bananas with a potato masher, so they still have some small lumps, set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar, butter, milk, eggs, vanilla and rum. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar/butter mixture, just until smooth. Add the bananas and mix just until they are combined.
Place the Nutella in a bowl and microwave for about 20 seconds to soften it. If you don’t use a microwave, you can heat the Nutella over a double boiler for a couple of minutes. Drizzle 2/3 of the Nutella over the banana bread batter.
Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the Nutella into the batter, trying not to over mix, so you can see the swirls when it’s baked.
Carefully divide the batter into the pans, trying not to overly mix the batter, so the swirls stay well defined.
Add the rest of the Nutella and swirl into the top of the batter. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Allow to cool in pan for about 10 minutes.
Remove and eat one of them while it is still warm and gooey. Save the other for the next day and serve with more melted Nutella.
Thank you, Zoë!
P.S. More best recipes, including molten chocolate cakes and salted caramel brownies. Plus, 11 more Nutella recipes.
(Photos and recipe by Zoë François of Zoë Bakes. Thanks to Shoko for helping with this series.)
