Panqué de Plátano (chocolate chip banana bread)
Enjoy this panqué de plátano for a sweet treat in the afternoon along with a glass of cold milk or as breakfast with Mexican coffee.
About The Recipe
Panqué de plátano is the Spanish name for banana pound cake, a fluffy and moist cake made of overripe bananas.
You will find this sweet bread at many Mexican bakeries called panaderías along with other types of pan dulce also under the name of pan de plátano or just panqué.
In fact, if you pay attention, panque sounds almost like pound cake and is often used to refer to this type of cake in many Latin-American countries.
The Mexican panque is pretty much like the traditional recipe from the U.S. but it might include some variants like using Mexican crema which is more easily available than buttermilk.
And just like in the American recipe, there are variations to make it richer or just to add different flavors and textures.
Among those variations, chocolate chip is one of the most popular, because as everybody knows, banana + chocolate is always a spectacular combo.
This recipe is my family favorite, is full of banana flavor with morsels of melty chocolate. The cake has a wonderfully moist texture and is not dry at all!
Ingredients Needed
- Bananas: The blacker the banana is, the sweeter. The best bananas for this recipe aren’t yellow but black or at least nicely spotted and soft. The flavor of an overripe banana is more concentrated which is perfect for pastel de platano.
- Flour: All-purpose, for substitutions read below.
- Sugar: Use granulated sugar or for a bold flavor you can also use brown sugar.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter, melt it and then allow it to cool down slightly before using it.
- Mexican crema: You can replace it with sour cream, plain yogurt, or buttermilk.
- Eggs: Use medium eggs.
- Also: Baking powder, baking soda, and a pinch of salt.
- Vanilla extract: For flavor.
What other types of flour to use
- Whole wheat flour. It will make the banana bread a little dense but still remain delicious. Use milk chocolate morsels for better results.
- Gluten-free flour. Any gluten-free flour mix should do the trick, but I recommend using a brand you have previously used and tested before.
- Other types of flour. Coconut flour, oat, almond, buckwheat.
How To Make Panqué de Plátano
Preheat oven to 350˚F (175°C). Butter and flour a bread loaf pan about 9.8 x 6.1 x 3 inches (24x15x7cm).
- Peel bananas and place them on a plate. Using a potato masher or a fork, mash bananas until creamy.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Place mashed bananas in a bowl and add melted butter, cream, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk until combined.
- Add flour mixture and sugar, then mix to combine ingredients.
- Add chocolate chips and fold in.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf pan. Give the pan a few shakes so the mixture will even on top.
Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Place the pan on a cooling rack and allow it to rest for about 10 minutes before removing carefully the panque from the pan.
Allow to cool down and serve panqué de plátano still warm if you want. Read below for suggestions on how to serve.
Recipe Notes
- You can quickly overripe bananas (plátanos) to make this recipe. To do this, preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C, place the bananas unpeeled on a baking sheet and bake for about 12-15 minutes. Let them cool then proceed with the recipe.
- So you have lots of overripe bananas? Peel them and freeze them. Next time you’ll crave this panque just let them defrost and use them in your recipe.
- Make sure you slice the bread only until is completely cooled down, otherwise it will fall apart.
How To Serve
Sweet bread like this panqué de plátano can be eaten in the morning for breakfast or in the late afternoon for merienda. Often served with a hot drink.
Mexicans are known for enjoying any type of pan dulce (sweet bread) with a cup of foamy chocolate, coffee, or cold milk.
Is just a tradition in every family that a pot with aromatic and flavored café de olla is always sitting on the stove, ready to enjoy with delicious Mexican pastries.
How To Store
Honestly, at home, this pan de plátano rarely lasts more than one day, but sometimes I bake two or three loaves to share with friends and family, and this is what I do for storing it:
Allow it to cool down completely and place it in a cake stand or a container with a loose lid. It lasts for 2-3 days at room temperature in winter. In summer is just too hot, so I recommend placing it in the fridge instead.
You can also freeze it for up to 2 months. Just wrap it tightly with cling film and place it in a resealable bag before storing it.
When you are ready to eat, thaw the panqué de plátano overnight in the fridge to have it ready the next morning for breakfast.
More Sweet Mexican Recipes
I hope you enjoyed this recipe, here are more Mexican sweet recipes you might want to try:
- Cortadillos: Fluffy Mexican pink cake.
- Polvorones: A mix between a cake and a cookie.
- Gorditas de nata: A sort of English muffin made with clotted cream.
- Pastel de Tres Leches: A classic cake soaked with a milk mixture.
Panqué de Plátano (banana bread with chocolate chips)
Equipment
- 1 Loaf pan about 9.8 x 6.1 x 3 inches (24x15x7cm)
Ingredients
- 3 overripe mashed bananas (read notes)
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup butter (melted)
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ⅔ cup Mexican crema (or sour cream, or plain yogurt)
- 2 medium eggs
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup chocolate chips (sugar-free)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F (175°C). Grease with butter and flour a bread loaf pan.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Place mashed bananas in a bowl and add melted butter, Mexican crema, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk until combined.
- Add flour mixture and sugar, then mix to combine ingredients.
- Add chocolate chips and fold in.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Place the pan on a cooling rack and allow it to rest for about 10 minutes.
- Carefully remove the panqué from the pan and place it on the cooling rack.
- Allow to completely cool down before slicing it.
- Enjoy with a glass of milk, a cup of coffee, or tea.
Notes
- You can quickly overripe bananas (plátanos) to make this recipe. To do this, preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C, place the bananas unpeeled on a baking sheet and bake for about 12-15 minutes. Let them cool then proceed with the recipe.
- So you have lots of overripe bananas? Peel them and freeze them. Next time you’ll crave this panque just let them defrost and use them in your recipe.
- Make sure you slice the bread only until is completely cooled down, otherwise it will fall apart.
Nutrition Information
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Never did a banana bread with chocolate chips, what a difference! Completely enjoyed this recipe, the making process and best of all, the eating process haha! I find your recipes very easy to understand and to follow, I’m looking forward to read more dessert recipes!
This was beautiful. I was eating dish while reading this. My stomach would have started hurting if I read this before eating..