chocolate banana bread

Once in a while, I crave chocolate. It is weird, I know, but I am one of those people who rarely craves chocolate. There is plenty of chocolate in the house, some of it belongs to the LAM and the rest belongs to the little boy. And I like none of their chocolate.

I would usually buy a cheap bar of chocolate when the craving hits me, and I would eat maybe a row or two of the chocolate, and the rest of it will go into the fridge, where it will stay until the LAM finds (and eats) it.

So when the craving hit me this time, I thought I would bake a bread-cake instead of buying another bar of chocolate that I would neglect to eat. I still wonder why they call this "bread" when it tastes like a cake? Anyway..

I made Nigella's Banana Bread, but adapted the recipe so I could make it into a chocolate version of the same cake.

And it turned out to be so good, I think I ate half the loaf by myself (over a few days, not all at once!!).

It is such a moist cake, and the chocolate flavour is so rich and distinct. It really pays to use a really good chocolate when you make this cake. Worth. Every. Cent.

Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Whisk to combine. Set this aside.

Mash half the bananas and leave the other half of the bananas in slices. 

Using a whisk, mix the melted butter and sugar until blended.

Add the eggs (one at a time) into the butter mixture. Whisk well after each addition.

Add the bananas and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.

Finally, add the dry ingredients and stir until the flour has just been incorporated. Do not over mix.

If you are adding walnuts and/or sultanas, add them at this stage and stir to combine evenly.

Pour the batter into a greased and lined 9x5-inch loaf tin. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the thickest part of the cake emerges cleanly.

Cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Want to take a bite?

RECIPE
Chocolate Banana Bread (Serves 8-10)
Adapted from "How to be a Domestic Goddess" by Nigella Lawson

Ingredients:

2 large eggs

4 large bananas, mashed - I used 6 bananas (3 mashed and 3 sliced)

125g unsalted butter, melted

125g plain flour

50g cocoa - I used Valrhona cocoa powder

150g sugar - I used brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Optional:
100g sultanas, soaked in 75ml bourbon or dark rum
60g chopped walnuts

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170C. Prepare an 9x5-inch loaf pan by greasing it or lining it with baking paper.

2. Whisk melted butter and sugar in a large bowl until thoroughly blended. Beat in eggs, on by one, then the bananas. Stir in vanilla extract, and walnuts and sultanas (if using).

3. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. 

4. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture in 3 parts and mix.

5. Bake for 60-75 minutes, until toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean.

7. Cool in baking tin for 15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

I am submitting this recipe for Cook like a Star hosted by Bake for Happy Kids, Kitchen Flavours and Simple Baking.