Choc-Chip Banana Bread

I love banana bread. So much that I can eat a whole loaf smothered in butter in a day! In the old days you could only really enjoy this treat when Mom or Granny baked it. Now you can buy it at the local store, but in the cake section to give you an idea that it is supposed to be a treat and not treated like bread!

That doesn't stop me from adding a heap of butter! But I have realized that I can make it a lot more healthier by baking it myself. While this does take an hour in the oven, the preparation side is really only a few minutes with a little elbow crease.

 What you need:

• 115g butter
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 140g cake flour (or 280g cake flour only)
• 140g whole-wheat cake flour
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 5 ripe bananas
• ½ tsp vanilla essence
• ½ cup dark chocolate shards/chips

 

What to do:

 

1. Preheat oven to a moderate 180°C.
2. Grease a standard loaf tin with some butter and line with grease-proof paper.
3. Melt the butter in the microwave for 20 seconds or until JUST melted
4. In a big bowl, cream the butter and sugar. You can use an electric mixer but I use good old elbow grease for this.
5. Add one egg at a time and mix well to ensure it is incorporated before adding the second one.
6. Sift flours and salt onto the mixture.
7. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas well with a fork until smooth.
8. Add the bananas, chocolate, vanilla and mix well.
9. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and place in the middle of the oven.
10. Bake 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.
11. Allow to cool in the pan then remove and slice.
12. Enjoy with a big spread of butter while it is still slightly warm.

How good does this look? Next time I'm thinking of adding some berries to the mixture instead of the chocolate. What do you think will be a good combination?