By: Ajmal Abdirahman

My two favorite things are matcha and banana bread, and so when I found out that they could be combined I right away needed to make it. This recipe I’ve made many times for my family and my friends and it’s now my favorite way to make banana bread!

If you don’t know what matcha is, or have never heard of it, matcha is a high grade form of green tea, made into a powder from the actual tea leaves. Matcha is traditionally consumed in East Asia and has many health benefits. It’s high in antioxidants, may help protect the liver, help prevent cancer, boost brain function, promote heart health and even help in weight loss.

I grew up eating banana bread because my mom would often make it when our bananas would go bad. Quite recently I’ve started to drink matcha when I was recommended to by my cousin. So, if you like the flavor of matcha I would recommend you try this recipe because it pairs well with the banana and sweet chocolate flavor.

Ingredients:

• 1 stick of butter
• 1 cup of sugar
• 3 mashed ripe bananas
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon of milk
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of matcha powder
• 2 cups of chocolate chips

Instructions to make Matcha Chocolate chip banana bread:

• Preheat oven to 350, and grease your loaf pan with baking spray or butter
• Add butter to a microwave safe bowl and melt it, add the sugar and cream and mix them until light and fluffy, add your eggs one at a time beating well after each addition
• Mash your bananas in a small bowl, mix in the nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla extract and milk
• In another bowl, add the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and the matcha powder
• Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and mix well
• Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and mix till the flour disappears
• Mix in your chocolate chips
• Pour your finished batter into the loaf pan and bake for 50-55 minutes
• Take out from the pan when ready

Enjoy!