Most people would agree, there's nothing quite like the taste of freshly baked cake, still warm from the oven! The thing is, that some recipes will take you a whole afternoon, and leave you with a sink full of crockery requiring cleaning, which can really put a dampener on the whole affair when you're short of time, or energy.
With this in mind, this recipe has been designed to be quick, convenient and result in minimal post bake cleaning, meaning you can sit, relax and indulge in a slice of cake and tea/coffee/water without the hassle of a big tidy up afterwards!
I'm starting to think that my kids avoid eating fresh bananas at home now, because they know that when the bananas start to look a little mottled and past their prime, it won't be long until they are turned into banana bread!
I have started to make this in muffin cases, baking for just 15-20 minutes, rather than the standard loaf - as this gives smaller portion sizes, meaning that it lasts just a little longer than one day! If it doesn't get eaten all at once, it is a great lunchbox filler. I'm sure that this cake would freeze well too, but in a house of 5 people, where everyone loves this banana bread, there is never any sitting around long enough for me to try!
I have included the nutritional value based on this recipe made in a loaf cake tin and cut into 10 good sized servings, but obviously, if you were to make them as 12 muffins, this would be a little lower. This is a sweet cake, so if you wanted to you could get away with reducing the sugar content, as long as your bananas are over-ripe, as they bring a lot of sweetness to the recipe. But this wasn't made as a health food recipe, so I don't use any sugar replacements, this is just a quick simple and super tasty way of using up bananas, instead of consigning them to the bin.
If you would like a no-nonsense recipe card without too many words, I have created one below. You are more than welcome to re-create this recipe, all I ask is that Bramble & Finch is credited as the creator of this recipe in any online platforms. You can find the nutrition values for this recipe at the end of this blog post.
If you would like the recipe in more detailed steps with photos, then read on!
Step 1: Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350F, or Gas Mark 4) and line a loaf tin with baking paper (or prepare muffin liners, if making as muffins)
Step 2: Place your mixing bowl onto your scale and set at 0. I use a large ceramic jug to make mine in, as I find it makes pouring the mix out a tidier task.
Step 3: Weigh your butter straight into your jug. Then reset your scale to 0 with the butter still in the jug. Add your sugar onto the butter, being careful not to go over.
Step 4: Add the eggs on top of the butter and sugar, and mix together. I use my stick blender for this and it makes the job super quick and easy, but it will also work if you mix by hand, it'll just take a bit longer. A lot of recipes ask you to cream the butter and sugar together before gradually adding the eggs, but I have found that with this recipe, it is perfectly fine without the extra steps.
Step 5: Once the eggs, butter and sugar are blended, throw your bananas in along with your vanilla essence, and blend (mix) again to make a runny batter. It doesn't matter if there are a few small lumps of banana, it really doesn't affect the cake as long as it is mostly blended. If hand mixing, you may want to mash the bananas with a fork before adding to the jug. This recipe uses 3 medium sized bananas, but I have also made it with 4 with no issue.
Step 6: Put your jug back onto the scales and reset at 0 once more. Then carefully weigh your flour directly into the bowl on top of the batter, along with your bicarbonate soda and baking powder. I know a lot of baking purists would balk at the sight of not sifting the flour, but it rises adequately without it, thanks to the extra help from the bicarb and baking powder!
Step 7: Use your stick blender to mix the flour into the batter. (Or spoon if you do not have a stick blender). Only blend until the flour is just mixed, as you don't want to overwork the mixture.
Step 8: If using a chocolate bar, chop it into small chunks.
Step 9: Add the chocolate chunks to your cake mixture and gently stir in to distribute. At this point you don't want to be using the blender, as you want your chocolate to stay in little chunks in the cake.
Step 10: Pour your mixture into your prepared loaf tin / muffin liners and bake in the oven for 45 minutes (20 minutes for muffins).
The cake should be golden brown on top when fully cooked, and a knife inserted should come out cleanly.
Step 11: Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool. This is the most difficult part, as it is incredibly hard to resist slicing into for a taste, whilst it cools. Try to allow it to cool for at least 5-10 minutes, as it will slice better once it is a little cooler. But a slice eaten whilst still warm is impossibly moreish!
My kids tell me that they prefer this as a loaf cake, rather than the little muffins - but I'm pretty certain that it is only because the servings are more generous!
I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you do give it a try, let me know what you think!
Nutritional Values:
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