Dark Chocolate and Walnut Banana Bread

This is the perfect recipe to use up any left over bananas sitting in the fruit bowl.


The riper the bananas the better and sweeter the flavour. So I would recommend you use the bananas with darker spots as they'll make the loaf taste better!

This has got to be the easiest recipe I've tried and one that everyone enjoys with a cup of tea or coffee. Best served with butter spread onto one side and can even be enjoyed with fresh berries and Nutella.

If consumed the day after it was made, its delicious toasted under the grill and butter spread onto one side for breakfast or as a quick snack. 

Th original recipe for the banana bread belongs to Mary Berry, but I did tweak the ingredients and add a few of my own. I swapped the caster sugar for soft light brown sugar and added dark chocolate chunks and walnuts chopped into small pieces. This just added more texture to the banana bread and well who doesn't love chocolate. 

Ingredients: 

100g butter, softened 

175g soft light brown sugar or caster sugar

2 eggs 

2 ripe bananas, mashed 

225g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp milk 

40g walnuts, chopped 

50g dark chocolate, chopped

Sprinkle of demarara sugar 

Method:

1. Lightly grease the loaf tin with butter and line it with baking paper. 

2. Preheat the oven 180 degrees Celsius. Begin by mixing the softened butter and sugar till its combined. 

3. Then add the eggs and smashed bananas to the mixture. Once, that has combined together add the self-raising flour, baking powder and milk.

4. Lastly, mix in the dark chocolate and walnuts until it is evenly distributed. Pour the banana bread mixture into the greased loaf tin and lightly sprinkle demarara sugar over the top of the loaf.

5. Bake the banana bread for about an 1 hour, until it has risen and is golden brown in colour. To check if the banana bread is done, you can poke a skewer into the middle and it should come out clean.

6. Once the banana bread is out of the oven, let it cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack before you cut it into thick slices and serve with butter spread on one side of the banana bread.

Let me know in the comments if you've tried the recipe! I'd love to know.