Banana Split Bread

A couple of weeks ago I made Chocolate Banana Nut Bread, in muffin form, that turned out good. Then about a week later I saw a blog (from one of my BakeSpace buddies) where he added strawberries to his banana nut bread and called it Strawberry, Pecan, Banana Bread. My mind started whirling. Ooooh em geeeeeee!!! How 'bout a little combo here? I mean....when I make my banana bread, I always use pecans instead of walnuts. I don't like walnuts. They're too acidic or something cuz my tongue burns when I eat them.

Anyways....I have a thing for banana splits. Not just any kind of banana split. I'm real particular about MY banana split...from what kind of ice cream and what order and where the toppings are.....ya...I'm a bit...ummm...picky? (to put it mildly).

FYI, this is wrong.....

As good as it looks, its just not my ideal banana split. I need specific flavors in a specific order, with specific toppings. No cherries, no walnuts. I need strawberry ice cream, chocolate has to be involved and a few other minor flavor combos. Anyways...with this Banana Split Bread...it comes pretty darn close! The chocolate flavor was rich..or deep? (does it make sense to say a flavor was deep?) and not overly sweet. And the strawberries!! Not only did they aid in the moistness but you could SMELL them before you even got it in your mouth!

I used my basic Betty Crocker Cookbook recipe from back in the early 80's for Banana Nut Bread with a few minor yet important adjustments. It came out sooo very moist and flavorful. You could smell the strawberries before you even bit into the bread! (did I say that already? Sorry....but it must've made an impression on me LOL)

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cups cocoa powder

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup milk

2 eggs

1 cup mashed, overly ripe bananas

1 cup sliced strawberries

Heat oven to 350'. Grease bottom only of loaf pan (9x5x3 inches or 2 loaf pans, 8.5x4.5x2.5)

Look at those berries!!! Can't have a banana split without strawberries...whether its fresh or that awesome Baskin Robins Very Berry Strawberry Ice Cream

(odd note: if you haven't noticed by now, I'm awful at spelling. So I had typed "wether" instead of whether, above. It looked odd after I had posted it (I always re-reading my posts the next day for stupid mistakes that are impossible to catch at 11pm) so I looked it up to see which was correct. ummm....I just found out what wether means!!! I'm dying here cuz I basically was saying something about a casterated goat being fresh!! LMAO)

Sooo, dump all those ingredients in a good sized bowl (minus the casterated goat please)...

Mix it up a bit with a big spoon....

Then beat for 30 seconds....(if you dont mix with your spoon first, you risk the hazard of spraying flour and / or cocoa powder all over everything within a foot radius)

Pour into pan....

Bake until wooden toothpick comes out clean, when inserted in the center....which is about 55 - 65 minutes if you're using the single, larger pan. Ooooor.....55 - 60 minutes if you're using 2 smaller loaf pans.

Cool slightly then loosen the sides of the loaf from the pan by running a butter knife around the edges and remove from pan.

Wow...you should smell this baby!!! Now I was really getting excited. I mean...I've altered recipes before....but I dunno what was different about this one....

I guess you just can't help but be thrilled when something goes your way and turns out right.

I was going to make some good homemade whipped cream to put on top. I even have the heavy whipping cream. I even got the "know-how" from my best beep (beep = BakeSpace + Peep)...since "you know who" has never made the stuff before. But when my daughter called me and said she was at the store, how could I resist? There's something so incredibly awesome about that Reddi Wip that makes the perfect little swirls on top of your dessert....that fills your mouth just right when you sneak into the fridge for that quick fix.....

Nope...I couldn't resist it's luring temptations and had my daughter buy a can....just for this purpose...and this purpose only. I swear (go ahead...believe what you want...hee hee)

Sorry DD, I know you tried to get me to make that whip cream homemade but I don't think I could've by the time we got off the computer. (DD likes to get me drunk! LMAO...I love you man!!!)