One-Bowl Nutella Swirl Banana Bread

If you think you already got a foolproof recipe for banana bread, think again: this One-Bowl Nutella Swirl Banana Bread is the ultimate quarantine bake. Made super indulgent by an extra Nutella coating, you won’t even believe how good this tastes.

It is fair to say that it took me a while to jump onto the banana bread bandwagon. Since this lockdown situation started, I have been noticing more and more people posting recipes for banana bread and for days, I thought the nation was baking nothing else but banana loaves. And I wanted to join in. Real bad. Banana bread is great. A super easy cake to make, it’s moist and buttery, without having to add a lot of actual butter to it. It’s a perfect way to repurpose brown bananas that might otherwise be thrown in the bin, and it is great with a cup of tea and coffee. Problem is, I get bored very quickly of banana bread. It is just not that exciting to me. But I really wanted to change that and find a way to turn banana bread into the bomb it could be.

So for the past couple of weeks, I worked towards perfecting the best banana bread recipe. I wanted something indulgent, gooey and chocolaty. Super moist and fluffy in the inside and quite “bready” on the outside. It had to be a one-bowl recipe because, let’s be real, who can be asked to do a ton of washing up after baking? Not me. My banana bread had to be all those things, but most importantly, it had to be decadent. That was key. Of course, I thought about adding chocolate, but so many other banana bread recipes called for that. It was a bit samey, which I did not like. And then I went food shopping and saw jarred Nutella on the shelves and had an epiphany in the middle of the confectionery aisle. Nutella Swirl Banana Bread, of course.

The thing is, despite having grown up in Italy, Nutella was a rare beast in my house. And I suspect it might be for many other Italians as well. I remember reading somewhere that the US was the biggest consumer of Nutella, whereas Italy was somewhere in the middle of the list. Growing up, Nutella was the outmost treat. I would have it on holiday, when we were having breakfast at a hotel. Sometimes, my parents would buy it when I had friends staying over. Occasionally, I would buy Nutella-filled croissants myself for a special occasion. This must have conditioned me in some ways, because even now that I have grown up and live abroad and could theoretically buy whatever I want, I never ever buy Nutella. I must have bought it twice in four years, simply because I forget it even exists. And yet, when I do have it, I wonder why I don’t buy it more often. It is so lush and creamy and let’s be honest, it makes everything taste delicious.

So it was settled, then, I would add Nutella to my banana bread instead of chocolate. And that was a brilliant idea. The bread was nice and moist and soo chocolaty and indulgent. But it still lacked something. I wanted to drizzle some of that chocolate goodness over the banana bread, but, of course, spreads like Nutella are quite thick and gooey. So, in a stroke of genius, I warmed a dollop of the chocolate and hazelnut spread in a bowl, over some steaming water. That loosened the spread’s texture, making it super easy to work with and to drizzle over the cake. It was one of the greatest decisions ever.

Now, for this banana bread you can use any chocolate hazelnut spread you prefer. You can also mix it with some leftover chocolate you have from Easter. The swirls might not end up as thick, but they will still taste great. So simply use what you have got on hand.

The other ingredients required are simple baking staples you probable have at home already: plain flour (that is, if you found some during this latest baking craze), butter, granulated sugar, eggs, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder. And bananas, of course. For this recipe, I used four, which is more than many other banana breads. This is because I used three for the dough, which allowed me to reduce the amount of sugar and butter I put in, whereas the fourth one was for aesthetics pure and simple, as I cut it in half and used it to top the banana bread. So if you are not going to decorate your banana bread, simply use 3.

All this banana talking has reminded me of a quick tip I am going to share now: freeze your super ripe bananas. I always buy a big batch of bananas because I eat them daily, but I do like them when they are still a bit green. So when the last two of three of the batch go brown, I slice them, transfer them to individual zip lock freezer bags and freeze them. They come in handy soooo many time. If you wake up one morning feeling a smoothie, or some amazing breakfast muffins, some healthier pancakes or this banana bread, you can simply thaw them and you are ready to go. Such a handy thing to have around. You will be so happy not to have to go to the store on purpose or have to wait for days to make any of the things mentioned above. So do yourself a favour, cut food waste and freeze some bananas!

And speaking of freezers, I am actually using it to store the second batch of this amazing banana bread (I couldn’t resist, but I am still surrounded by chocolate so I am pacing myself). So if you are dying to make this banana bread but don’t feel like eating the whole batch now, know that it freezes well and that, when you warm it up in the oven, it will be even better than when you first made it.

Ingredients:

3 medium overripe bananas + 1 for topping (optional)

220 gr plain flour

110 gr melted unsalted butter

120 gr granulated sugar

2 medium eggs

90 gr Nutella + more for drizzling

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.

2. To a large bowl, add 3 bananas and mash them with a fork until smooth. Then add the melted butter and the sugar and mix until combined. Add two eggs and beat them for about a minute. At this point, add the vanilla extract, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and continue mixing.

3. Finally, add the flour. I like adding flour a few tablespoons a time, making sure that it’s fully incorporated into the batter before I add more.

4. Once you have a smooth batter, transfer it to a 2 lb loaf tin lined with baking paper. Spread it with a spatula and then add the Nutella in big dollops all over. Using a knife, swirl the Nutella all over the batter.

5. If using, slice a banana in half horizontally, and top the bread with both halves, sliced-side up.

6. Bake for 1 hour and 10 min. Once it’s out of oven, melt a dollop of Nutella in a heat-safe bowl, on top of a small saucepan with boiling water and drizzle it generously over the banana bread. This is totally optional, but oh-so-recommended.

This banana bread keeps well for up to 5 days on the counter, or for up to 2 months in the freezer. If you freeze it, cut it in slices and wrap them individually in baking paper.

Enjoy!

Did you try this recipe? Have you got any questions or feedback? We would love to hear from you! Let us know by leaving a comment below! Xx