Mmm mmm I really wish there was a smell-o-gram. Someone invent some please!
Its not very often that you would hear me say the words breakfast and chocolate in the same sentence (unless it was ‘No boys, no chocolate before breakfast!’) but I do think that every so often there has to be a bit of give and take and sometimes a treat is a good thing.
Last week I was toying with a few different ideas and I came across an old recipe that I used to use to make banana teething biscuits for Reuben. Toby was never a fan, but Reuben used to devour them with an enthusiasm rarely seen outside of Toys ‘R’ Us. The recipe is just a normal banana bread recipe and then I would bake finger sized pieces of it on slow cook until the bread was completely solid and formed a very tough biscuit which could be gummed at for hours.
I decided that it might be an idea to make proper banana bread again with a few adjustments to make it a tasty treat loaf that my husband and the kids could enjoy as a snack or for a breakfast alternative. I added a bit of this, took away a bit of that and finally mashed up two old recipes I had replacing the raisins that were in one for chocolate. I have to say, judging by the fact that my boys (husband included) had eaten nearly the whole loaf within a day or two attests to the fact that it was a pretty big hit!
Whatever you choose to do this is the best way to use up those brown bananas that are always left over.
Here’s my banana chocolate bread recipe, all done in cups so you don’t have to be too exact with the measurements:
- 1/2 cup of oil
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 1/2 cups of plain flour
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup banana mashed
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1 cup of chocolate chips – or if you want to be healthy (why?) then add 3/4 raisins/sultanas/mixed peel.
Blend the oil, sugar, vanilla extract and eggs together. Once blended add the rest of the ingredients. Don’t use ripe bananas for this, it won’t work as well but the more brown spots the better!
Pour the mixture into a greased loaf tin and bake at 400C/GM 5 for 1 hour. You may wish to put a piece of parchment paper over the top of the loaf if it starts to get a bit too brown.
Allow it to cool for 10-15 months and then serve it hot with butter. Nom.
Harriet x
