For many of us, our love affair with banana bread began when we were navigating the bizarre situation that was the lockdown. So 2020 will not only be known as the year when a virus shut the world down, but it will also be the year when the world was given banana bread - in a big way!
In fact why there wasn't a shortage of bananas, we don't know. So as an ode to the humble banana bread loaf, we thought we'd zhuzh things up a bit and create these fabulous Triple Chocolate Banana Bread Bars. Who doesn't love the combination of chocolate and banana together? A match made in dessert heaven!
Makes: 16 cake bars
INGREDIENTS:
250g plain flour
130g butter, softened
100g soft brown sugar
3 ripe bananas
2 eggs, beaten
1tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1tsp. ground cinnamon
1tsp. ground ginger
1tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
50g chopped nuts (whatever you like!)
50g dark chocolate chips
30g cacao powder
50g milk chocolate chips
50ml milk
50ml condensed milk
THIS IS HOW WE DO IT:
Preheat oven to 160ºC.
Grease and line 2 22cm x 24cm cake tins.
Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
Mash the bananas. How smoothly you mash the depends on whether you like to find big banana chunks in your cake (we do!)
Add the mashed bananas to the butter and sugar mixture.
Then add the eggs, vanilla and spices.
Sieve the flour, baking powder, cacao powder and bicarbonate of soda into the bowl and mix well.
Add the chocolate chips, nuts and both types of milk and mix well.
Spoon mixture into the cake tins.
Bake in the middle shelf of oven for about 25 minsutes.
Insert a skewer or knife into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean it's ready.
Take the banana bread out of the oven and allow to cool slightly.
Slice into rectangles while in the tin.
Remove from tin and scoff. Sharing optional.
COOK'S TIP:
1. Instead of making cake bars, this mixture can be used to make loaves or muffins. Just substitute cake tins for loaf tins or muffin tray lined with muffin cases.
2. A good glug of rum can be added to the mixture.
Photos: Pixabay
Word cloud: Angel Noire