Banana Yogurt Chocolate Pecan Loaf

A family-favourite sweet treat, or a perfect gift for someone you care for; although, Banana Yogurt Chocolate Pecan Loaf might be hard to part with!

Every once in a while, no matter how much willpower you have, or how determined you are to eat better and wiser, cravings take over and your body just has to have what it wants.

Now, maybe that’s because my willpower is weak. Having the ability to say no to something sweet is rather easy for me. But, if it’s something salty, I’ll trade you everything I own for it. Want my virtue? Take it! Just give me the pretzel!

This particular day, I decided to give in to my very rare sugar craving. It didn’t help that just before John.e left home to go do something, he suggested that I should do something with the bananas in our fruit bowl, because they were too ripe to peel and eat. I think that suggestion was the catalyst for the Banana Yogurt Chocolate Pecan Loaf you see in front of you.

I think that anyone who likes bananas – and, probably those who don’t – are fond of banana bread. There’s just something about a banana bread that feels and tastes homey and comforting. It’s the most basic recipe with so many variations.

Personally, I prefer a banana bread or a banana loaf with some type of nuts in it. I will most always add walnuts or pecans to my banana bread recipe. I like the little bits of crunchiness throughout the bread, because most banana breads are very moist and I think the contrast in the texture is needed.

Now, I’m not saying that a moist banana bread is a bad thing. That’s the way they should all be! This particular banana loaf is very moist. The addition of the chocolate chips help to keep the loaf moist and also helps to sweeten the bread. The pecans and the chocolate chips complement the banana flavour so well.

This is a big batch recipe. I made a total of three banana loaves from this one batch. I do have larger loaf pans, but I thought it would be nice to use my smaller loaf pans so that I could possibly package up a loaf or two and give them away.

As it turns out, I took one loaf to work and John.e took the other two to his work. I prefer not to leave baked goods at home, because we’ll just end up eating too much of it. Besides, it’s always nice to share with others, right? Because I’m always baking or cooking for Lord Byron’s Kitchen, it would be impossible for us to consume it all before it just doesn’t taste as fresh.

I guess I could have frozen the loaves. That’s one of the best things about moist banana bread. You can wrap it several times in plastic wrap and freeze it. To thaw, just remove from the freezer and leave at room temperature for at least an hour. You will not have lost any of the flavour or texture.

By the way, if you want, you can leave out the pecans completely. For that matter, you can leave out the chocolate chips too. If you don’t have three loaf pans, or only have a large loaf pan, go ahead and use it. Fill the pan 3/4 full and test to see if the loaf has baked all the way through with a toothpick. Alternatively, you can bake this banana loaf in a bundt pan as well.

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