Don’t let this photo fool you! It might look like a plain slice of chocolate cake but this Chocolate Cinnamon Banana Bread is moist, rich and incredibly delicious. And even better, it is incredibly simple to make!
I have been making banana bread since the boys were little. This recipe is adapted from the Banana Bread in Nigella Lawson’s How to be a Domestic Goddess – one of my favourite baking books. I do away with the alcohol-soaked fruit and the walnuts, because my boys never liked those bits anyway. Instead I add in cocoa powder and cinnamon for gentle warmth and spice.
We always have masses of bananas in the house in various states of ripeness, and this is great for using up those which are just too ripe for eating.
In fact, the riper the better for this recipe. If the skin is covered in black dots, then the flesh will be ripe enough to mash easily and will be incredibly sweet and tasty.
This Banana Bread is really quick and easy to make, which is why I have made it so regularly over the years. It’s a perfect cake to eat with a cup of tea, and never lasts more than a couple of days in this house!
Chocolate Cinnamon Banana Bread
150g plain flour
25g cocoa powder
0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
125g unsalted butter, melted
150g caster sugar
2 large eggs
0.5 tsp vanilla extract
300g ripe banana flesh, mashed with a fork (roughly 4 small bananas, not including skins)
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/160fan/Gas4. Grease and line a loaf tin. I use the Lakeland tin liners which do away with the need to grease the tin and make the whole job a lot quicker and easier!
Sieve together the flour, bicarb, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon into one bowl.
Put the sugar into a large bowl and pour in the melted butter. Beat together with a wooden spoon until well blended – it will take a few minutes.
Beat the eggs and vanilla extract together in a jug. Add half to the butter and sugar mix, beating well until combined, then repeat with the rest.
Add the mashed bananas to the bowl and stir in. Finally, add the remaining dry ingredients – half at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.
Pour into the lined tin, and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for around 60-75 minutes. Check after 60, and then every 5 minutes til the cake is cooked.
Because of the fruit content of this cake, a skewer will not come out completely clean when you test the middle of the cake. I usually cook until the cake feels firm when pressed, and is starting to come away from the liner at the sides.
Remove from the oven, and allow to cool completely in the tin (on a wire rack) before slicing.
