Strawberry Banana White Chocolate Chip Loaf

 Strawberry Banana White Chocolate Chip Loaf

That's quite a mouthful for a loaf, but as delicious as this creation of mine is, it's well worth the effort! Here you get the scrumptious blending of fresh strawberries with bananas and white chocolate chips. Are you drooling yet? I am. A fresh take on an old favorite - banana bread. I wanted one to eat (of course) and what to freeze (what restraint) so I used a smaller aluminum foil loaf pan and a smaller round bundt-type pan that I happened to have lying around. I placed both on a cookie sheet to bake and they turned out beautifully. I love it when that happens!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup granulated white sugar

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 2 large eggs

• 3 mashed bananas
• 1/3 cup mixed berry or plain low fat yogurt

• 1 teaspoon rum extract
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries, tossed in 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan (preferably Pyrex) with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
3. In a separate large bowl, beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the banana, yogurt, and rum extract; beat until blended. Stir in the flour mixture; just until moist. Don't over-mix. Stir in the white chocolate chips and then gently stir in the strawberries. 
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a wooden pick (or knife) inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Carefully run a knife around the inside edges to loosen, remove from pan and cool completely on a parchment paper-covered wire rack.

One wasn't enough. I made one in a 4c bundt pan and one in a small loaf pan

Note: To make it easier to remove the loaf without cracking, you can place parchment or wax paper in the loaf pan, overlapping the edges to use as a "handle." Spray with cooking spray before pouring the ingredients in. Then you can just lift it out when it's baked. The pans were flimsy, so I placed them on a cookie sheet, 10 minutes on a lower rack in the oven and then 20 minutes or so on the middle rack to cook evenly without burning.