Easy Banana Loaf with Raspberries and Chocolate Chips

We have been making this recipe on repeat for the last few weeks and it hasn’t failed us yet. It’s a very tasty way to use up bananas that are past their best and is pretty versatile too. You can vary the extras depending on your taste and what you have in the cupboards. Personally I think it wouldn’t be the same without the chocolate chips but then I apply that theory to most baked goods. Except creme brulee, that’s just perfect as it is. Oh, and cheesecake, I prefer that without chocolate too. I think that covers it.

Although we haven’t grown much in the garden for the last two years we are lucky to have an abundance of raspberries that flourish with minimal effort from us. Their slight tartness is the ideal complement to the sweetness of the banana loaf. This is a great recipe to make with young children too as it’s so easy. Casper is always eager to help – today he was at the sink washing his hands almost before I’d finished asking him if he wanted to do some baking. He also loves picking the raspberries although about half do not make it into the bowl. One of the times we made it recently I also had Rowan ‘helping’ while he was in a sling on my back.

The biggest downside to this recipe is that it takes at least an hour to bake. If you can’t bear to wait that long while the loaf emits a delicious smell that makes your mouth water then transfer a small amount of the mix into a muffin cases and they’ll be ready in around 15 to 20 minutes.

Recipe {adapted from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, click here for printable recipe}

Ingredients

270g light brown muscovado sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
200g peeled bananas, mashed
280g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
140g unsalted butter, melted
150g dark chocolate chips
200g raspberries

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170. Grease a 23 x 13cm loaf tin and dust with flour.

2. Beat the sugar and eggs together until well combined, using a freestanding mixer or handheld whisk.

3. Beat in the mashed bananas.

4. Sieve together the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add to the sugar and egg mixture and mix well until well combined.

5. Pour in the melted butter and beat until everything is well mixed.

6. Gently stir in the chocolate chips and raspberries until they are distributed evenly.

7. Pour the mix into the loaf tin, smoothing the top so it is even. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes – until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. I cover the top with some foil after it has been baking for around 30 minutes to stop it burning.

8. Leave to cool slightly in the tin before turning out onto a baking tray.

This definitely tastes best when warm from the oven so tuck in!