Banana Bread with Dark Chocolate & Walnuts

NYE has always brought an air of optimism and positivity, but the streets which are typically alive with celebration felt abandoned last night, its emptiness made more apparent by the mist from the fog.  
2020 has been a year like no other… we’ve learnt to entertain and occupy ourselves within the confines of our walls, and many have found the joy in cooking. I certainly appreciate the time to make my own meals from scratch but I also love making dishes out of excess ingredients or leftover food. This Christmas, we found ourselves receiving plenty of gifts of chocolate. Consuming them all on their own however, would be a stretch so I’m using it as an ingredient for a dessert.
Banana breads are one of my favourite sweets as they taste best when made with the fruit that have gone soft and no one wishes to eat. The bake is sweetened and scented by these ripened, mashed bananas, and in this recipe, I’m using the excess chocolate I’ve received plus walnut pieces to further enhance its taste and bite.
To view the recipe and baking instructions, go to my blog on hongyitheyogi.com.
Wishing all a Happy New Year and a year to look forward to!!! x 

Banana Bread with Dark Chocolate & Walnuts
2-3 ripened, soft bananas (roughly mashed)
100g walnuts (chopped into small pieces)
75g dark chocolate (diced into small chunks)
2 x eggs (beaten)
250g self-raising flour
100g unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
Pinch of salt (I used pink Himalayan salt but any type would work)
150g caster sugar
 
Preheat fan oven at 180°C. Combine the flour, salt and sugar into a big mixing bowl. Add the cooled, liquified butter. Give it a quick stir, followed by the beaten eggs, this time mixing all the ingredients up well. Once the mixture is of a good, pasty consistency, you can add the remaining ingredients – mashed bananas, chocolate chunks and walnut pieces. Stir in thoroughly, ensuring that these ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the bread mixture.
Prepare your loaf tin, glaze with butter and line it with baking paper. Pour the mixture into your loaf tin, place it on a medium shelf and bake for 50-55 minutes.
Remove when time is up and check that the bread is baked through by inserting a cocktail stick or thin metal pin down the centre. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then remove it from the tin and sit the loaf on a wire rack to cool it down completely.
Banana Bread with Dark Chocolate & Walnuts is ready to serve. Eat on its own or have it toasted with jam.   
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