Banana Bread

In Canberra, everyone believes that ANZAC day is the unofficial start of winter and the weather definitely agrees. It's time to start making soups and curries and casseroles - all those hearty, warming foods. Unfortunately most recipes are normally designed for 4 and I only cook for 1 which means a lot of leftovers and the need for a lot of freezer space!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I freeze bananas (and anything else that will survive) rather than wasting it. However bananas seem to take up most of my freezer space, so I am on a clearing out spree to make room for all my winter warmers. The latest banana using addition is this delicious banana bread from 101 Cookbooks.

I made mine as mini loaves and swapped the icing for a quick zap in microwave before eating. This is quite a dense bread so if you do make them as mini loaves or muffins, go for a slightly smaller size.

Ingredients

• 2 cups plain flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large eggs
• 3 bananas mashed (or if using frozen, just defrost)
• 1/4 cup natural yoghurt
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease either a loaf tin, a muffin tray or mini loaf pan.
2. Whisk together the wet ingredients, lemon zest and sugar. 
3. Sift in the flour, baking soda, and salt and add the chocolate pieces. 
4. Fold through the dry ingredients, but don't over beat as you want to keep the mix light..
5. Pour into the pan and bake until golden brown. For a loaf this will take about 50 minutes or about 25 minutes for the muffins and mini loaves.

Cool and serve hot from the oven; delicious with a smear of butter!

Glutton