Chocolate Banana Bread!

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Prepare for Seconds..

Melts in your mouth…

When you make this loaf the whole house will smell of irresistible baking aromas. No better way to welcome your family home after a long day of work, schools, activities… This is a very good tactic to get their taste buds going, starting their appetites ready for dinner; especially true with the young ones. Banana bread can be served with breakfast, afternoon tea, in gatherings, for snacks and is great for those lunchboxes.

This recipe can be made into a loaf, or muffins. It is best stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, or in the fridge for 1 week. Banana bread is perfect and wholesome on its own, but goes well with a dash of whipped cream or ice cream on the side. I love spreading peanut butter sometimes too (don’t tell anyone)! You can also frost the loaf with cream cheese if you like. If you do frost the loaf or muffins with cream cheese, make sure to store covered in the fridge.

However way you decide to make this loaf, it always turns out super moist and scrumptious. The addition of chocolate chunks/pieces is optional, however adding those creates patches of melted chocolate that burst with flavour in your mouth and add to the moistness. Banana & chocolate are a classic combination anyway. Most would go for milk chocolate which tastes delightful, I prefer dark chocolate. You can try with both and go for the option that you prefer. I have also added a tbsp of cocoa powder to make it more chocolatey. This is purely personal preference and can be skipped. Just note that skipping the cocoa powder results in a loaf that is paler in overall colour. Pecans, walnuts, Macadamia nuts all work very well with this recipe and can be removed if intolerant to nuts. I have gone for the classic toasted walnuts, but again it is your choice. With that said, I do recommend you toast your nuts beforehand, as that warms the nut oils therefore brings out their flavour and adds to the crunch.

This is super easy to make, but highly addictive, so be prepared for seconds!

 

Ingredients

Serves: 12
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 tbsp sifted cocoa powder (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/2 tsp DS Cake spice mix, or your 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 4 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted Walnuts, Pecans or Macadamia Nuts
  • 1/2 cup dark chocolate pieces

Preheat oven to 350F-180C. Line the bottom of your loaf tin with baking paper (do not spray oil over the sides of the tin). Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix dry ingredients together to incorporate. (dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, cocoa powder (if using), spices and  salt). Set aside.

With an electric mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. while the mixer is still running on the same speed, add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add Vanilla and banana. Continue beating to mix. Add the dry ingredients mixture and beat on low speed, till all is incorporated.

Fold in the nuts and chocolate pieces. Pour the sticky batter into prepared loaf tin or paper lined muffin tin and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour for loaf and 25 minutes for muffins (the centre should be set and browned when done).

Once done baking, cool in tin for 10 minutes. Release the sides and turn out, then cool completely on wire racks before slicing. Slicing loaf while still hot makes it crumble. Allow to cool completely. When ready to serve, ideally it should be served at room temperature. You can also heat it up a bit if you like your muffin warm.

Serve alongside tea or coffee, and enjoy 🙂

 

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