Shake up your banana bread with chocolate chips, walnuts, and marshmallows – this Rocky Road Banana Bread is an unexpected, delicious, chocolatey hit!
Last week, I shared this maple glazed banana bread recipe and a little story about how my neighbor accidentally had 28 bunches of bananas delivered via Peapod. As you can probably imagine, one loaf of maple glazed banana bread did not make a dent in my newfound banana stash.
And thus I bring you the next dessert in our Banana Overload series: Rocky Road Banana Bread!
The idea for rocky road banana bread actually stemmed from a discussion in my lab at work. I don’t know how we got on the subject, but no one could agree on what actually went into Rocky Road (the ice cream version).
A little Wikipedia search led us to discover that rocky road on its own is actually a type of candy, and the ingredients differ by country of origin. Who knew?!
But after all this talk about Rocky Road, it only seemed appropriate to bring some Rocky Road Banana Bread into the lab! For this particular version, I went with chocolate chips, marshmallows, and walnuts, but of course, you can adjust the ingredients to fit your own version of “rocky road.”
Another loaf of this also came along for our week at the shore, and it entirely disappeared in the first day. I’m not sure if everyone got the “rocky road” association, versus a chocolate banana bread with nuts and gooey melted marshmallows. But regardless, everyone loved it and it’s a delicious twist on a classic quick bread, and one you should definitely try!
If you live anywhere other than the US, rocky road is apparently a kind of breakable candy, made from ground up cookies, melted chocolate, and marshmallows. I’ve never actually had it, but I picture it kind of like a chocolate bark: take all your ingredients, mix them up, and spread them on a pan to cool. (Looking for an authentic rocky road recipe? Try this one from BBC Good Food.)
The actual ingredients differ by country, although the idea is the same. According to Wikipedia, the Bahrain version of rocky road is made from chocolate, Nutella, and pistachio — I’m pretty sure I have to try this out ASAP! Meanwhile, in Australia, they mix in some glace cherries and coconut, too.
Here in America, rocky road is an ice cream flavor. It usually consists of chocolate ice cream with walnuts and chopped marshmallows, and sometimes bits of solid chocolate, too.
Armed with my newfound knowledge of what goes into American rocky road, I decided I needed to make some sort of rocky road themed baked good.
My first thought was a bundt cake for my Bundt Cake of the Month series. But then several bunches of bananas (literally) showed up at my door, and Rocky Road Banana Bread seemed like the obvious choice!
To start, we’re going to need some ripe bananas. Why ripe? It’s time for my favorite subject… kitchen chemistry!
Kitchen Chemistry
The ripeness of a banana changes the pH of your batter, so it’s important to use under-ripe or over-ripe bananas, as the recipe suggests! A slightly-green to normal banana has a pH around 4.6. The pH of an overripe banana, however, has a pH of 6.5 or higher. The pH of batter is important in terms of leavening (baking soda vs baking powder)!
I made this a chocolate banana bread by swapping out some of the flour for cocoa powder. I also went with brown sugar for a little extra richness and moisture.
And then the most important part: mixing in some chocolate chips, walnuts, and marshmallows! I had whole marshmallows on hand, so I cut these smaller, but miniature marshmallows would be even easier.
Don’t forget to set aside some extra mix-ins to top your rocky road banana bread!
Shake up your banana bread with chocolate chips, walnuts, and marshmallows, reminiscent of the flavor of classic rocky road ice cream.
Rocky road banana bread can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, refrigerated for a week, or frozen for up to 3 months.
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