Banana bread with dark chocolate chunks = BLISS.

I cannot get over how well this banana bread turned out! It’s moist, fragrant, and beautifully enriched by the sweetness and taste of the bananas – the dark chocolate chips I added also balanced the flavours out perfectly. Each bite into a chunk of decadent chocolate sent a shockwave of semisweet bitterness that was nothing short of scrumptious. I couldn’t think of any better way to start the weekend (and kick away the effects of the night before) than to bake something again for the whole family, especially after Friday when my brownies had been such a success!

Just like my brownies, I used the slightly more indulgent Valrhona 70% cacao chocolate rather than chocolate chips, but as always, any sort of chopped chocolate or chocolate chips would be fine – be more adventurous and add different fruits instead, like a handful of blueberries, cranberries, or dried cherries!

Fresh out the oven!

Ready in about 1 1/2 hours, this recipe will make one loaf

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda OR 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate
• 2 1/3 cups mashed, ripe or overripe bananas

A rich, banana bread batter

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees celsius, and lightly grease a loaf pan (mine was 9×5 inch) or line it with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine the sifted flour, baking soda OR baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract; stir in the eggs and mashed bananas until it is all well mixed.
4. Pour the banana mixture into the dry ingredient mixture, and also add the chopped chocolate chunks; stir gently just to combine and moisten.
5. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a toothpick in the centre of the loaf comes out clean.
6. Let bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove the load and leave it to cool on a wire rack – enjoy!

Just waiting for that breadknife to slice through

This recipe is relatively quick and very simple – but there are a few things to keep in mind to avoid your baking endeavour from going horribly wrong. Firstly, in the fourth step when both wet and dry ingredients are combined, combine them very gently! If you overmix, the bread will come out very dry – it is crucial to stir them just to moisten the dry ingredients with the wet. Secondly, in order for the bread to cook evenly, bake it on the middle rack of your oven. I have altered this recipe from the original by lowering the temperature slightly and extending the cooking time marginally, in response to comments claiming that the break was not cooked evenly enough. Moreover, I like my bananas to be super-mashed without any lumps so the flavour is deeply imbued into the bread, as opposed to the occasional bite of banana chunk – but to each his own.

Once served, make sure to store the loaf in an airtight container, bread holder, or keep it in the freezer if you wish to save it. It’s delicious toasted, but I personally love it just on its own!

Perfect the way it is

Recipe adapted and altered from the original, posted by Shelley Albeluhn on http://www.allrecipes.com