Chocolate Chip Walnut Crumble Banana Bread

By SweetnSpicyLiving on April 18, 2021 • ( 3 Comments )

A banana bread like no other, this Walnut Crumble Banana Bread is lighter and airy than usual banana bread. It is loaded with chocolate chips, and topped with crunchy walnut crumble. What a great way to use overripe banana.

You’ve probably have a LOT of banana bread in your life, but make room for this one because this banana bread is not your usual banana bread. It has a nice soft and moist texture, is loaded with chocolate chips but that’s not what makes it different. The toppings set this apart from plain banana bread. The walnut crumble toppings! A buttery, sweet and crunchy crumble toppings loaded with chopped nuts. It gave a really nice texture and crunch to the banana bread, a crunchy toppings and a soft and moist bread. What is not to like?

Banana Bread Walnut Crumbe Loaf By SweetNSpicyLiving

Banana Bread and Banana Muffin are probably the top on the list when it comes to recipes on where to use overripe banana. The internet have thousands (probably even millions??) of recipes for banana bread and muffin alone. A lot claimed to be the best banana bread ever and I do not want to argue with that. Taste is subjective, what is best for me may not be best for you or vice versa. But in the end, it is what makes you happy that is important. So even if I would like to say this is the best banana bread ever, I will not say that. I leave that up to you to judge, and that is if you give this a try. So what makes this variation different?

I have my fair share of banana bread recipe, this is the 11th variation so far and I still love them. Banana bread is a quick bread, the sweet loaf bread style. It is called quick bread because it is so easy to make, especially if you are comparing it to a yeast bread. Usually, dry and wet ingredients are mix in a separate bowl, then combined together. This method often do not even need an electric mixer. The reason why I said usually was because this banana bread variation uses a slightly different method. Instead of just mixing the wet ingredients, I like to use a mixer to beat it until the consistency become light and fluffy. Creaming the egg and sugar produces a lighter airy banana bread which I personally prefer. I know it is an extra step, but it does makes a difference so why not. After doing this, I then mix the dry and wet ingredients together. I’ve used this method a lot of times and it never failed to produce a light, soft and moist banana bread.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with Walnut Crumble

Always go for overripe Banana

You’ve read it over and over again, and I will say it again. Use overripe banana with black spots to make any kind of banana bread. That is the golden rule of making any banana bread or muffin. Overripe banana (not rotten) makes the best banana bread because they are naturally sweet, and they have a lot of moisture in them. You want a banana with black spots on the skin but when you peel the banana skin, the inside is not yet rotten.

Go for dessert, ready to eat banana – NOT plantain

Go for the dessert banana, they are the most common type of banana you see in grocery, they are the long banana. Never use plantain as this type of banana requires cooking before you can eat them. Their flesh is hard and they are not as sweet as regular banana.

What Ingredients Makes Banana Bread Moist

What ingredients affects the moist texture of banana bread? Ingredients with fat. This could be in the form of butter, oil, yogurt or sour cream, milk or buttermilk. Banana bread the uses oil tends to be more moist than when using butter, but use of butter tends to give a better taste. We all know that butter makes things better 🙂 You could also go for a combination of both oil and butter for moisture and taste. When I do this, I often go 1:1 ratio. Like in this recipe, it will be 2 tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoon oil. Sugar also contributes to the moistness of the banana bread. You can use granulated sugar, brown sugar or a combination of both. Brown sugar tends to add more moisture because of the molasses in it. It also make a darker color banana bread. Just like the oil and butter, you can also use a combination of both granulated and white sugar.

More than the soft and moist bread, what makes this different is the walnut crumble toppings on top. I am obsessed with them. If you’ve tried coffee cake, the idea is similar when it comes to toppings. I love texture, the crunch, the sweet, the salty, everything about it. If you are not a fan of crumble toppings, you can skip it. But trust me when I tell you, it is delicious so don’t close your door yet. This is a very easy recipe, so let’s get started!

Ingredients:

3 large ripe Bananas – mashed
1/4 cup Flavorless Oil
1/2 teaspoon pure Vanilla Extract
1 large Egg – room temperature
3/4 cups Granulated Sugar
1 1/3 cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoon Buttermilk or Milk
1/3 cup Chocolate Chips

Crumble Toppings:

2 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
2 tbsp Rolled Oats
3 tbsp Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Granulated Sugar
1 tbsp Butter – cold or softened
1/4 cup chopped Walnuts or Pecans

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375F degrees and line a 9-inch loaf pan with parchment paper or spray with oil if not using a liner.
Make the Crumble: Mix all ingredients together. Use your fingers to crumble the mixture. Set aside in the freezer while you make the banana bread batter.
Mash the Banana: Peel the bananas and mash using a fork or immersion blender. It doesn’t have to be super smooth, a little of chunk is fine. Add vanilla extract and oil and stir. Cover and set aside.
Mix Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Cream Egg & Sugar: Using hand mixer or stand mixer, cream the egg and sugar until light in color and smooth and flowing consistency, about 5 minutes.
Wet Ingredients: Turn the mixer in low-speed and gradually pour the banana mixture to the egg and sugar. Mix until just combined.
Add Dry Ingredients: In low-speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined, then pour the buttermilk and mix just enough to combine. Do not over mix the batter. The mixture will be runny, that’s fine. Add chocolate chips and mix until just mixed in.
Transfer Batter: Transfer the batter into a 8 or 9-inch loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Remove the crumble from the refrigerator and crumble it with your fingers to loosen it a bit. Sprinkle on top of the bread.
Bake for 1 hour and 3 minutes or until the top turns brown and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the top starts browning too fast, cover it with aluminum foil then continue baking. This variation bakes a little longer because the top is covered with crumble, make sure to do the toothpick test to check if done.

Makes 1 9-inch loaf pan. Please note that smaller loaf pan will require more baking time as it is going to the thicker, adjust baking time as needed if usng different pan size.

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