Banana Bread Recipe

We all love the cheeky addition of chocolate to our everyday life so why not elevate your banana bread to another level with a generous handful of rich dark chocolate chips.

Here at Exploding Bakery we like to use the best responsibly sourced and sustainable Colombian dark chocolate from our friends at Luker Chocolate.

For you at home, any chocolate that takes your fancy will do nicely! Click on this link to try our Vegan Banana Bread and check out the recipe below.

Chocolate Banana Bread Recipe (Vegan)

Stolen from our antipodean relations down under, this is usually baked in a loaf tin, but works brilliantly in a tray.

The nuts add a really nice element of texture, but if you want to make this nut-free, just slice up an extra banana into coins and use that for the topping instead: a little sprinkling of sugar will add a nice sheen to these slices.

This cake has quite a tight crumb, so add a teaspoon of baking powder if you want a lighter sponge.

Like all banana breads, it’s a great way of salvaging those last bananas in the fruit bowl that have a few fruit flies buzzing around; if you only have a couple, just unzip them from their skins and tuck them away in the freezer until you have enough to bake with.

Make sure they’re defrosted and at room temperature before using.

Ingredients

• 50g pecans
• 1 tbsp golden or maple syrup
• 570g (1lb 4oz) soft, ripe, brown bananas (peeled weight)
• 340g (12oz) caster (superfine) sugar
• 275ml (9fl oz) / (250g/9oz)
• Sunflower or rapeseed (canola) oil
• 560g (1lb 3¾oz) self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 150g (5¼oz) dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 375ml (12¾fl oz) unsweetened soy milk or oat milk

Preparation

To Make the Topping

1. Take 100g (3½oz) pecans and 1 tablespoon of golden or maple syrup
2. Turn on the oven to 160°C fan/320°F/gas 4 and line your 22 x 33 x 5cm (8½ x 13 x 2in) baking tray (sheet pan). 
3. Place the pecans in your lined tray and drizzle with the golden or maple syrup, then pop in the oven while it’s heating up.
4. After 5 minutes, check them, and turn them with a spatula to make sure the syrup has covered all the pecans.
5. Give them 5 minutes more, then turn out on to a sheet of baking parchment and leave to cool. The syrup should be glistening but still runny: you don’t want any caramelization on the nuts at this point, just a nice sheen.
6. To make the cake, mix the bananas with the sugar in a stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl, to create a sort of paste.
7. Then slowly add the oil, while mixing, until the mixture emulsifies.
8. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl, then add them to the banana mixture, along with the chocolate, and combine until everything is fully incorporated.
9. Finally, add the soy milk and mix a little more until you have a runny batter. Pour the mixture into your tray, top with the syrupy nuts and bake for 50–60 minutes. This cake is at its best when it’s still warm, but it’s also great cut into slices and toasted. It will keep for a week in an airtight container in the fridge.

Try mixing things up! Although I'm sure we can agree it’s hard to beat a traditional banana bread, let’s try!

The perks of such a versatile cake is that you can make it your own and put a bit of your personality into it.

Perhaps you’re a little nutty; throw in some nuts of your choice!

A little fruity? Top with delicious fresh fruit to take it to the next level.

How about, a party animal; big scoops of ice cream or caramelised rum bananas.

Or keep it vegan and make a toasted Jam and Peanut Butter Sandwich, topped with a little Peanut Butter whipped together with Coconut Cream (pictured below).

Now, it’s time for you to create a show stopper.

So, preheat that oven, gather those ripe bananas, get mashing, make a mess and most of all savour every mouthful of your new favourite cake.

We would love to see your creations so if you do decide to have a go, tag us @explodingbakery in your Instagram story to be featured on our Instagram and Facebook feed.