85g / ½cupdairy-free chocolate chipsplus a few more for sprinkling on top
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease and line a 9 x 5 or 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pan with a strip of parchment paper down the middle with some extra overhanging at each end to act as handles for lifting the cooked cake out.
Puree the bananas until smooth. You can do this by hand with a fork or in a mixer.
Add the nut/seed butter or oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, sugar and salt to the bananas and beat until smooth and light and fluffy.
Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder and mix gently until everything is just combined. Do not over mix because it will affect the texture and rise.
Then add the chocolate chips and stir just enough to distribute evenly.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, even out the top and sprinkle with an extra handful of chocolate chips.
Bake for around 45 - 50 minutes until the loaf is coming away from the sides of the pan and is firm with a bit of bounce when you poke the centre of it. This bread is best when very slightly under-cooked as it has maximum fudginess then. If you insert a toothpick, instead of it coming out clean like with most cakes, you want a bit of fudgy cake clinging to it. If it feels liquidy put it back in the oven for another 5 minutes then check again.
Remove from the tin immediately once done using the parchment paper as handles and place on a cooling rack. Be sure to remove the strip of paper from it's bottom by gently turning it on its side and peeling it away.
Video
Notes
Success Tips
Use a scale to weigh the ingredients. Precision is key to excellent results when baking and cup measurements are not accurate enough for optimum and consistent results. This kitchen scale is cheap and works brilliantly.
Use really ripe spotty bananas
Don't over-mix the batter.
Use a metal loaf pan. Glass and silicone especially don't give the best results because they don't conduct heat in the same way as metal.
Be sure you don't over-bake this banana bread. It's beauty is the fudginess and we don't want to lose it! It's better to very slightly under-bake it than it is to go over.
Add some extra chocolate chips to the top before baking to make it look extra pretty (or as an excuse to eat more chocolate).