Moist Banana Bread with choc chips and pecans

Ahh, bananas.  To tell the truth, I don't like to eat them on their own and my brother absolutely loathes them.  Occasionally, however, my grandmother guiltily hands me a few brown-spotted soft bananas and mumbles something about baking, and I sigh but I do what I must.  What I must do is bake banana bread.  In the past, the recipe I've used is this one; but my Mum requested 'moist banana bread' so, as a dutiful daughter, I consulted Google and Google brought forth this recipe to me.

Boy, is it a winner.  The other recipe is definitely quicker and easier to make, but the extra couple of steps for this one are definitely worth it.  Moist, check; delicious, check; my banana-hating brother will eat it, check.

Recipe adapted from: The Redhead Riter
Ingredients - 11 x 21 cm (4 x 8 inch) loaf
125g butter
250g white sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
255g flour
1 tsp bicarb soda
1/2 tsp sale
2 ripe/overripe bananas
1/2 cup sour cream
60g pecans
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 175 C (350 F).  Beat butter and sugar until creamy.

2. Add eggs one at a time, beating between each addition.  Add vanilla and mix in.

3. Add the flour, bicarb soda and salt to the batter and mix gently until combined.

4. Mash the bananas with a fork then add them to the batter along with the sour cream.  Mix until combined.

5. Add the pecans and chocolate chips to the batter and combine.  The chocolate chips aren't in the original recipe, but I am guilty of adding chocolate to everything.

6. Pour the batter into a loaf tin lined with baking paper and bake for about 1.5 hours or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.  The top of the banana bread will go quite brown, but mine didn't burn at all, so don't worry!

7. Cool the banana bread in the tin and then consume at your leisure.  Mum likes to spread butter on it, but it's beautiful on its own as well!

Banana Bread with Choc Chips

This is a fantastic recipe from my Auntie in Sydney - it's quick, easy, conveniently uses up bananas you've forgotten about and tastes delicious.  Especially with choc chips all through it.

Recipe Source: The 1997 Joy of Cooking

Ingredients - 11 x 21 cm (4 x 8 inch) loaf

185g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
75g unsalted butter
65g sugar
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas (best if they're all squishy)
50g walnuts or pecans
Optional: you can use chocolate chips instead of nuts, or just add the chocolate to the mix.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

2. Combine butter and sugar.

3. Sift the flour with the bicarb and baking powder, then beat into the butter and sugar mix.

5. Gradually beat in the eggs, one at a time.


4. Roughly chop the bananas and mash them.

5. Fold the banana, nuts and chocolate into the main mixture.

6. Line a loaf pan with baking paper and spread the batter into it.  Try to get the batter as flat as you can.

7. Bake the loaf for 45 - 60 minutes.  When baked, it should be brown and well risen.
Let the loaf cool in the tin for 5 - 10 minutes, then lift it out using the baking paper.

Slice, and eat.  Mmmm.  Look at all that melty chocolate goodness.  And hey, it's got fruit in it, so it's healthy too!