Fruit breads are always popular, particularly banana bread (and Strawberry Bread). This Chocolate Banana Bread adds a nice twist to an old favourite and of course, tastes delicious. Just a small amount of dark chocolate goes a long way and you can justify using it for the health benefits!
This is the first recipe I’ve cooked out of my newly acquired cookbook – “Bake” from The Australian Women’s Weekly. It’s a wonderful compilation of recipes and information on all things baking. The reason for the purchase (here comes the justification) and my upswing in baking efforts lately is a desire to move away from processed baked goods, particularly for the kids. Honestly, the ingredients list on some of the biscuits, cakes, breads and snacks in the supermarkets scare the life out of me.
Anyway, back to the Chocolate Banana Bread. The recipe is pretty much straight from the book – no need to play around with this one. Be quick to get a slice once it’s out of the oven, because if your family is anything like mine, it will disappear very fast.
Chocolate Banana Bread
From Bake” (Australian Womens Weekly H/B)
Chocolate Banana Bread
Ingredients
1 cup mashed banana
¾ cup caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup milk
2/3 cup self-raising flour
2/3 cup wholemeal self-raising flour
¾ cup coarsely chopped walnuts
¼ cup finely chopped dark eating chocolate
Method
Preheat oven to 180C (360F). Grease a loaf pan. Line the base and long sides with baking paper (paper can extend 5cm over sides for easy removal).
Combine banana and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil and milk, combine well. Then stir in remaining ingredients until combined. Don’t over mix the ingredients, the mixture should still be a little lumpy.
Spread mixture into pan. Bake for about 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes clean. Stand the bread in the pan for 5 minutes and then turn onto a wire rack to cool. Eat and enjoy!
The Klutzy Cook Notes
- Extra light olive oil can be substituted for the vegetable oil.
- The walnuts can be roasted before adding to the mixture.
