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Remember last fall when Chrissy Teigen successfully placed a call-out for six brown bananas on Twitter? I have never wanted to live in L.A. more! See, I'm one of those people who buys bunches of bananas on a weekly basis, then tosses them onto the kitchen counter and promptly forgets about them until they are too gross to eat. That probably tells you everything you need to know about me right there. But my point is that I always have brown bananas lying around, and I could have easily been the chick who swooped in to save Chrissy Teigen's banana bread recipe.
But I wasn't, and I'm still not over it. Luckily, after the whole banana-crowd-sourcing thing went viral, Chrissy graciously decided to share her secret formula with her fans on Snapchat, and I decided that if I couldn't be her savior, I would just try to be her. That's right —I tried to make Chrissy Teigen's banana bread, you guys. And trust me when I tell you, that sh*t is B-A-N-A-N-A-S.
Seriously. It was just as amazing as you'd think it would be, coming from a best-selling cookbook author and all. You totally want to try it now, don't you? Well, I printed out the recipe and took a pic, so here you go:
I know, I know. I got all caught up in the model mama's penmanship that I cut off some of her instructions. My bad. Here's the fullingredients list, exactly as written:
- 2 cups mashed BROWN bananas
- 4 eggs
- 2/3 cup canola oil (plus a little more to grease the pan)
- 2 cups flour (plus a little more to flour the pan)
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 box of vanilla instant pudding (box is 3.5 oz)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 3.5 oz bar of dark chocolate or I dunno a 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (can add more if you love dark chocolate)
How amazing do all of these elements sound? At this point, most people would probably run out and start gathering up all this stuff. But I decided to skip that step and order everything online because I'm lazy like that. I just hoped the bananas I ended up with were ripe enough.
Most of them don't really look too brown, do they? Whatev. I spent a few minutes googling "how to quickly brown bananas," but when I saw it involved placing them on a baking sheet and sticking them in the oven, I decided to save time and just move on with Chrissy's instructions.
Step 1: Combine mashed bananas, eggs, and oil in a large bowl. In a different large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, pudding mix, baking soda, and salt.
You like how I busted out my avocado masher thing? Bet you didn't think I'd have one of those bad boys lying around!
Step 2: Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredient bowl and combine.
Step 3: Fold in coconut and chocolate chunks. Try not to steal too many of the chocolate chips when you do it. (And yes, that last part is my own little piece of advice.)
Step 4: Pour into greased and floured bundt pan.
Step 5: Bake at 325 degrees for one hour (test with a skewer or toothpick around 50 minutes).
For the record, mine took almost a full hour and a half before the toothpick came out clean. Maybe it was because my bananas weren't ripe enough, or because I may have gone a little overboard with the coconut. Also, I think it's pretty clear my oven could use a good cleaning. But every time I opened the door to check to see if this baby was done yet, I was greeted by the most amazing smell. Plus, I played Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" the entire time it was in there, so I'm calling it a win.
Step 6: Let cool slightly.
Step 7: Flip onto another plate (Use a butter knife to gently release from pan before flipping. Don't forget inner circle!)
TBH, I was really nervous about this part. But in the end, it all worked out OK. I mean, how amazing does that look? And it still smelled incredible, you guys! Seriously, I need to know if anyone has ever come out with a banana-scented perfume, because I would buy that stuff by the case and then bathe in it every day, like for real.
Meanwhile, don't kill me, but I was so excited about my beautiful banana bundt that I totally forgot to take a video of myself cutting into it. So instead, I give you Chrissy doing it, because she's way more fun to watch anyway.
You see how the chocolate chips melted onto her knife? Well, that totally happened when I cut into mine, too! It was all just so amazingly moist and delicious. Seriously, you guys, this banana bread recipe is legit —with just the right about of dark chocolate to make it feel decadent — and I totally plan on making it again. Only next time, I will definitely hold out for the brown bananas.
Now, if I could just get Chrissy Teigen's glam squad to come do my hair.
