Some extremely evil, over-ripe bananas had to be used up, pronto (victims of the January health kick), so I went back to my list of blogger recipes for inspiration. I’ve tagged about a dozen banana bread variations over the last year* but this one from the kitchen goddess that is Molly at Orangette caught my eye. Which, in turn, she’s adapted from the equally fab Kickpleat of Everybody Loves Sandwiches. Small world, eh?
I’ve tweaked it ever so slightly by reducing the cinnamon a little bit** but otherwise left it the same. It’s more dense than other banana breads I’ve tried and I mean that in a good way. There’s no butter in it, which is – I think – what leads to a springier texture that’s strangely satisfying and moreish. As you can see from the picture above, we’ve been nibbling away at it quite happily 🙂
Because it’s quite robust, I’m thinking this would be good to take along on a picnic/walking trip whenever we’re finally lucky enough to enjoy a sustained burst of sunshine. (When? When? WHEN?) Seeing as that could be a while yet, this cake is going to be my 11 o’clock slice of naughtiness in the midst of all the healthy eating 😉
Banana bread with chocolate and cinnamon sugar adapted from Orangette and Everybody Loves Sandwiches
You’ll need:
3 large ripe bananas
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate chips
For the topping:
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Grease and line an 8-inch square baking tin.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients and then set aside for the time being.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas well with a fork or potato masher. Add the eggs and stir well to combine. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and vanilla extract, and stir to mix. Add 3/4 cup of chocolate chips and stir briefly.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and then evenly sprinkle on the topping mixture. Then sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips over the top.
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing and scoffing the lot.
*You can never have too many banana bread recipes 😉
**I know, it sounds so unlike me – must be having an off day…
15 comments
Comments feed for this article
January 18, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Catherine
I do love the way the banana goes purple when cooked like this… food science mysteries are always good! I use cinnamon sugar for my banana bread too, it really is the perfect topping.
January 18, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Jen
Hey Catherine.
Baking alchemy is the best 🙂 The cinnamon sugar makes a good crunchy topping, doesn’t it? I’d never used it on banana bread before but will from now on 🙂
January 18, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Deb
Jen, this sounds like it would be a perfect breakfast treat for my guests that are coming in February. Just add coffe, tea and a fruit salad. What do you think?
January 19, 2008 at 12:08 am
Jen
Hi Deb.
You know what, this recipe would be absolutely perfect for breakfast with friends. A slice of something sweet and a bit decadent, balanced out with the healthy stuff 🙂 I can also recommend a couple of other things from the archives:
Butternut squash muffins
Spiced plum compote
Voluptuous orange yogurt
Hope this helps 🙂
January 19, 2008 at 9:35 am
Trekkie
I never thought that I’d hear you say that you CUT the cinnamon!!!!!!
Bread looks fabulous.
xxx
January 19, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Jen
Hiya Lynn.
I know, I know… Must be ailing for something, it’s so unlike me… But the bread was so tasty that it’s now completely disappeared 🙂
January 19, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Isitjustme?
That looks fantastic…I’m making it tomorrow morning for breakfast.
The family will be having scrambled eggs or something else but I’ll be having that.
January 20, 2008 at 1:26 pm
lorraine@italianfoodies
Love bananas but never make anything with them!! This looks great, I might just have to give it a go:)
January 20, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Jen
Hi Isit.
Hope it worked out well and that the family got at least a tiny bit to try out 😉
Hey Lor.
There always seems to be more than you can ever get through, doesn’t there? But they freeze beautifully, which is just as well. Next on my list is the banana and chocolate icecream that Kieran made the other day – it looks amazing…
January 20, 2008 at 8:10 pm
holler
I’ll have to go buy some over-ripe bananas, I have everything else and I just don’t want to wait for some bananas to ripen! Oh, can’t wait!
January 21, 2008 at 9:51 am
Jen
Hiya Holler.
It’s well worth seeking out those over-ripe bananas for 🙂 Mine were looking particularly evil and ready to climb out of the bowl by themselves…
January 29, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Rosie
I’ve just found your site from Holler. This recipe sounds very delicious and guess what I have some ripe bananas just waiting to be used in a bake 🙂
Lovely site really enjoyed viewing!
January 30, 2008 at 10:53 am
Jen
Welcome Rosie and thank you!
Holler’s site is fab, isn’t it – so many tempting recipes and good things 🙂 Hope you enjoy making the banana bread 🙂
June 7, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Banana Bread Recipe
I LOVE banana bread. It tastes great and even I can bake it, works every time 🙂 Thanks for this new twist on the recipe, must try it next weekend.
October 10, 2008 at 2:19 am
What I eat, apparently » Blog Archive » Banana Bread, Filled with Chocolate Chips and Joy
[…] I grabbed the recipe from here. The only alterations I made were using 1/2 wheat flour and 1/2 white, and a wee bit of nutmeg […]