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It all started, as so many of my over-the-top recipes over the years have, with a ridiculous bout of wordplay: SpongeBread SquarePan. I had started a pop culture cupcake-decorating party for one amid all of this social distancing, taking requests from Instagram followers to create cupcakes that looked like the characters from shows we were all binge-watching. (Or forced to binge-watch, based on our kids’ demands.)
Peppa Pig cupcakes led to Elmo ones, which led to Baby Yoda, then Sailor Moon…and then, one day, I thought about SpongeBob. He didn’t seem right for a circular cupcake at all. And then I noticed three very brown bananas on the kitchen counter. Within seconds, “SpongeBread SquarePan” got into my head.
On their own, this mini chocolate chip banana bread recipe—adapted from IWashYouDry.com‘s dish—is absolutely delightful. It’s a dense cake, thanks to all of the butter and banana, and I admit I go completely overboard with the chocolate chips, but it’s so worth it. You don’t have to go all out, adding Nutella pants and vanilla buttercream, gel frosting and M&M facial features, but if you’re stuck inside with time to kill, why not? Then you can make like SpongeBob, stare into those lil’ banana bread faces and announce “the gang’s all here!”
Note: I use a mini loaf pan, like this, which turns your typical banana bread batter (enough to fill a 9-inch by 5-inch pan) into 10-11 mini loaves when filled 2/3s of the way up.
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Mini Loaves
Ingredients
- 3 bananas (medium-sized)
- 1 stick butter melted
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Using an electric mixer, whip bananas until they're pureed. Add melted butter, sugar, egg and vanilla, beating for about 1 minute, or until combined. Add flour, baking soda and salt, mixing until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Spray mini loaf pans with cooking spray (or coat bottom and sides with butter). Fill each pan about 2/3s of the way up with batter. Bake 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean (with just a few crumbs or melted chocolate, not batter). The banana bread doesn't brown like typical recipes, so don't worry if it's a light tan color rather than a dark golden color. The toothpick test is the best way to know if it's done.
