It's been raining here in Berkeley for days...a welcome wet grey raindrop symphony for our Northern California soils. I'm a lazy baker at best, so take baking cues from me with a grain of salt. That being said, if I try or create a recipe and it works out, I'm confident it will also work out for you! So, I'm taking cues from my friend Nancy @UrbanKitchenApothecary -who's all the way across the country in NYC-it snowed, she baked..I figured the Bay Area version of snow is rain...it's raining here...so I'll try baking. The idea of a Tahini Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread read Nancy's post here (https://urbankitchenapothecary.com/2017/01/08/chocolate-chunk-tahini-banana-bread/#more-2453) just sounded so damn delicious. Two differences in ingredients I made from Nancy's recipe are 1) mine's vegan, I replaced the yogurt with coconut milk 2) I used unsweetened chocolate. One difference in procedure...I used only one bowl (remember I said I was a lazy baker...) The result was a very satisfying moist and lightly sweet banana bread with the lovely rich hint of tahini throughout the bread, punctuated with strong dark chocolate notes. Don't be shy to try using unsweetened chocolate in your recipes when there are other sweet components, here the bananas and the coconut sugar provide plenty of sweetness that get incorporated with the chocolate in your mouth. If you're a dark chocolate lover you will appreciate knowing you just got the real thing (don't add sugar to my chocolate...I just want chocolate!)
RECIPE
3 very ripe bananas (mine were thawed from the freezer)
1/2 cup coconut sugar
2 large eggs (I used pasture raised)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup coconut milk + 1 tsp lemon juice (I used the thicker portion from a room temperature can)
1/2 cup unsalted tahini
1 cup flour (I used Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour)
1/2 cup Almond Meal Flour (I used Bob's Red Mill too)
1 tsp sea salt
3.5 oz unsweetened chocolate (I used Ghirardelli's because it's what I had in my chocolate tin)
PROCEDURE (and now you'll see my lazy baking)
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a round 9" baking pan (other comparable sizes will work too) with coconut oil and line with parchment paper. (If you are using a round pan just press the parchment down into the pan, folding it along the circumference as best you can.)
In a small bowl combine the coconut milk with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and let it sit for 5 minutes.
In a medium-large mixing bowl combine bananas, coconut sugar, vanilla, and eggs and mix/mash with a fork. Add the coconut milk and combine thoroughly.
In the same bowl, on top of the wet mixture, add the flour, almond meal, sea salt, cinnamon, and baking powder and stir together with the fork. (I find if I go slowly at first, the dry ingredients incorporate with the wet just fine this way.) Rough chop the chocolate and stir in gently, reserving a bit of the chocolate for the top.
Pour the mixture into the pan using a spatula to get it all out. Add the Remaining chocolate chunks to the top of the mixture and bake for 40 or so minutes. It's done when a toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy!