Chocolate Strawberry Loaf

Even though I have a huge back log of things to post about, I thought I'd post this strawberry loaf so that if it sounds good to you you'll have a chance to try it while strawberries are in season! Mostly I really don't like using fruit in baking, especially precious strawberries. I much prefer eating them fresh and unadorned. But we bought a gigantic container of strawberries from Costco and they really didn't taste so good so I thought I'd take the opportunity to bake with them. Elyse posted this strawberry loaf as if in answer to my strawberry woes! (Speaking of Elyse, go and check out her amazingly spectacular creation - a Samoa inspired cheesecake.)

I modified the recipe a bit - omitting the nuts, nutmeg and lemon, and adding chocolate chips. The loaf reminds me of the very moist banana bread my mom made when I was growing up. And the great thing is you can taste the strawberry! For myself, I wouldn't make this loaf again but my boyfriend wants me to. And it's a great way to use up strawberries if you have too many (not that it's really possible). And yes the loaf did have a pink tinge to it.

If this sounds good, you might like:
Mom's Banana Apple Bread
Candied Maple Walnut Pancake Loaf
Pumpkin Loaf
Banana Crunch Muffins

Chocolate Strawberry Loaf
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

The recipe calls for "mashed" strawberries. I pureed mine to make them less chunky. As mentioned above, my modifications were to omit the walnuts, nutmeg and lemon, and to add chocolate chips.

1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups (6 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) pureed strawberries
1/2 cup (3 7/8 ounces) vegetable oil

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and flour (or spray with non-stick vegetable oil spray) a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the chocolate chips, flour, sugar, soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, strawberries and vegetable oil. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, whisking until well-blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove it from the pan and transfer it to a rack to cool completely, 1 hour or longer. For best flavor and easiest slicing, wrap the bread while still slightly warm and let it sit overnight.