Banana Bread - with chocolate

Having just come back from a trip to Australia I was surprised how popular banana bread was.  It is eaten a lot for breakfast and all coffee shops and cafes have banana bread on the menu. So on my return I decided to try and make it myself and have created a version with chocolate in also.

To watch a  video of me making the swiss roll please click on the video below:


Equipment
2 large mixing bowls
Electric mixer
Sieve
Loaf tin 22cm X 12cm  (approx 8 1/2 inches X 4 1/2 inches) lined with greaseproof paper

Banana Bread
150g  (5 1/2 ounces) brown sugar
250g (9 ounces) plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas
100g (3 1/2 ounces) dark chocolate chopped into small chunks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g (3 1/2 ounces) melted unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (350 fahrenheit or gas mark 4). Brush melted butter over the loaf tin and then line with greaseproof paper ensuring that it comes up the side also.  Brush further melted butter on the greaseproof paper.

Sieve the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon into a large bowl and stir in the sugar.  In a separate bowl mash the bananas and the mix in the eggs (lightly beat them first), the melted butter and the vanilla essence.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and add in the banana mixture and fold together.  Once it is partly mixed add in the chocolate chunks and continue folding.  Once everything is mixed together pour the mixture into the lined tin.  The batter will be thick.

Bake in the oven for approximately one hour until it is brown and a cake tester comes out clean.

Leave it to cool in the tin for around ten minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack.

It is very nice to have a slice warm from the oven!

If you are a nut fan then you could add some walnuts instead of the chocolate or have some of both in.