Baking was the first thing I learnt as far as cooking goes…. I know kinda strange but that’s how it is. The thing is I love to read. Growing up my mum was never worried about me getting lost, I would never wander off, I’d usually be stuck at some corner reading, billboards, signboards, newspapers over people’s shoulders… you get the drift. And I love a challenge, so if I read a do-it book I tried it, and I have a shit load of strange injuries and mum an interesting collection of my DIY experiments. So it wasn’t really rocket science that I would jump onto the baking bandwagon when Dad gifted me a ‘Baking Delights’ book and a basic OTG.
I tried every recipe in that book with… let’s say okayish success overall. Starter’s luck made some things divine most things unmitigated disasters. But it made me want to read more and improve. And I did. One of my earliest wins was a delightful Chocolate Banana Bread. I have since made it quite a few times with equal success.
It is not strictly a bread, but not quite a cake, it is something between a biscotti and a cake. But it slices like a bread and I quite like the ring to it so that’s what I have always called it 🙂
Without much ado let’s get to it
Ingredients
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour (APF)
- 1/2 cup of dark cocoa
- 1/4 cup of caster sugar
- 2 ripe bananas
- 2/3 cup of maple syurp / honey / golden syrup
- 1/3 cup of vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup of softened butter
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- a pinch of salt (omit if using salted butter)
- 1 teaspoon of lemon juice (optional, it gives the bread a lovely red-brown tinge)
- a pinch of cinnamon
Instructions
- Butter a microwave-safe loaf pan and dust with cocoa and keep aside.
- In a mixing bowl, sift flour, cocoa, caster sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt (if using). Using a blend, blend bananas, maple syrup, lemon juice (if using), oil and butter into a smooth paste. Gently, using a metal spoon, fold banana-maple mix into the dry ingredients, taking care to not knock all the air out of the sifted flour mix. Don't over mix, just till all the flour mix is wet.
- Drop spoonsful of batter into the buttered and dusted loaf pan. Gentle smooth the top, feel free to lick the bowl and spoon at this point. Gently tap the loaf to remove any gaps and stick the pan into microwave. Yes, microwave. Microwave at 180 for 5 minutes. Repeat 3 more times. I have found that doing it in 5 minutes bursts gives me the best results. The loaf will rise up and look extremely oily, soft and sponge-like. Don't worry you are on the right track. Pull the pan out and let it cool for about 10 minutes. Then, and this is the odd bit, stick it back in the oven and nuke it high for 2 minutes. Your loaf will have started to sink now. Fret not, all is well.
- Let it cool completely in the pan and then stick the pan, uncovered, in the refrigerator to chill overnight. Slice and enjoy dunked in a tall glass of chilled milk.
