Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread

Have your ingredients do the heavy lifting for you. Experiment with different chocolate bars, and you’ll be rewarded with a tender crumb that’s littered with tacky bites of ginger and a lingering lemon perfume; or, intoxicating cardamom and cinnamon, and a brown-buttered toffee-ness (yes, that’s a word). For a loaf that’s more suited for afternoon tea or breakfast, try subbing in 1/4 cup (60 grams) cocoa nibs for the chopped chocolate.

1 teaspoon plus 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil (113 grams ounces), divided

3 tablespoons drinking chocolate

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (173 grams)

1 teaspoon baking powder (4 grams)

1 teaspoon kosher salt (3 grams)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)

2 large eggs

2/3 cup sugar (110 grams)

1 cup mashed banana, from about 2 large (227 grams)

1/3 cup full-fat Greek yogurt (80 grams)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (2.4-ounce) bar Moka Origins chocolate, roughly chopped

Heat oven to 350°F. Combine 1 teaspoon coconut oil with 3 tablespoons drinking chocolate in a small, microwave-safe bowl, and microwave for 1 minute, in 30-second bursts, stirring to help combine, until glossy and smooth. Set aside.

Add the remaining 1/2 cup coconut oil to an 8 1/2x4 1/2-inch loaf pan, and let melt in the preheating oven until liquid, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, kosher salt, baking soda, and cardamom, if using. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale yellow and noticeably fluffier, about 1 minute. Add the bananas, yogurt, 1/2 cup of the melted coconut oil, and vanilla, and whisk until mostly smooth (a few lumps is okay).

Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined, then fold in the chopped chocolate. Scrape batter into the prepared pan, and dollop the chocolate-coconut-oil mixture all over. With a paring knife or thin skewer, swirl the chocolate into the batter as desired.

Bake for 1 hour, or until nicely browned around the edges, and the bread bounces back when pressed with a finger. Let cool slightly in the pan before turning it onto a rack to cool completely.