Marbled Banana Bread

Directions

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan, or coat it with a nonstick baking spray.
• Melt butter in a large bowl in the microwave. Mash the bananas into the melted butter until mostly smooth. Whisk in brown sugar, egg, vanilla, baking soda and salt until thoroughly combined. Add 1 cup of the flour, stirring just until it disappears.
• Pour half of batter into a second bowl. Into one bowl, stir the remaining ¼ cup of flour and ground cinnamon. Into the other bowl, stir in the cocoa powder and chocolate chips.
• Dollop batters in large alternating spoonfuls into the bottom of the prepared loaf pan. “Checkerboard” the rest in layers (meaning that you’ll drop a chocolate batter dollop on top of a chocolate-free one and vice-versa until both batters are used up). Use a butter knife or small offset spatula to make a few figure-eights through the batters, marbling them together but just a little, any more and the swirls may not look distinct when you cut the cake.
• Bake 55 to 65 minutes, until a tester or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out batter-free. (A melted chocolate chip smear is expected, however.) Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and invert it out onto a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.