Somehow the world played a little joke on me when I had a child who doesn’t like chocolate…and when I say she doesn’t like chocolate I mean anything even resembling chocolate! From a teaspoon of cocoa in a marble cake to a chocolate drizzle on a bikkie to a glass of chocolate flavoured milk, they’re all a definite no go for her!
How is that even possible for a self-confessed chocoholic like me!
The other kids are more “normal” in their tastes and love nothing more than coming home from school to a chocolate something sitting on the kitchen bench. So to solve this problem I have a few recipes that are “one and one” – one with chocolate and one without!
We all love banana bread and just by being able to make one with chocolate and one without makes sure everyone stays happy. It is so easy to make, doesn’t require a stand mixer and you end up with two different loaves!
Feel free to leave your comments below and please don’t forget to tag me in your socials if you give the recipe a go!
H xx
Makes: 2 loaves, or 16 slices total
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45-50 minutes
Ingredients:
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup raw sugar
- 1 cup light olive oil
- 4 large very ripe bananas, mashed with a fork until almost smooth
- 2 cups self-raising flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt flakes
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa
- 100g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), roughly chopped
- 1 not too ripe banana, sliced into 4 lengthways
- 1 tablespoon demerara sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease 2 x 24cm loaf tins, line both with baking paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until pale. Steadily pour in the olive oil, whisking constantly to incorporate. Add the mashed bananas and gently whisk to distribute through the oil mixture.
- Sift the flour, salt and spices directly over the mixture. Stir gently, being careful not to overwork the mixture.
- Place half the mixture in a separate bowl. Divide the walnuts between the two bowls and then sift in the cocoa and chocolate pieces to one bowl only. Gently fold the add-ons into the respective mixtures just until everything has been incorporated (it will still be lumpy).
- Pour the mixtures into the prepared tins and top with 2 slices of banana on each bread. Sprinkle the demerara sugar and cinnamon sugar on the tops of the breads and pop in the oven to bake for approximately 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of each loaf comes out clean.
- Remove the tins from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes before turning the breads out onto the rack to further cool for at least 30 minutes.
- Slice and serve warm with quality butter or fresh whipped ricotta and berries.
Cook’s note: You can also freeze individual slices of the breads, making it a great meal prep recipe. To defrost, pop in the microwave for 20 seconds and then toast to your liking. Alternatively, pop frozen slices into lunchboxes and it will be good to eat by the time recess comes along for the kids.
