As I’ve mentioned before, we have a penchant in our family for handmade gifts (as demonstrated here). So with Mother’s Day coming up this Sunday in the UK I’ve been mulling over what to make. I thought this recipe I came up with for Dark Chocolate Chip Banana Bread would be perfect, after all my mum is forever telling me I need to eat more fruit and veg… Unfortunately my mum has decided to give up chocolate for lent so it’s back to the drawing board for me but I hope you all get chance to try this delicious recipe for yourselves. If any one asks, it’s one of your 5 a day!

Recipe:

200g (1 cup) Golden Caster Sugar
120g (1/2 cup) Soft Margarine for baking
250g (2 cups) Self Raising Flour
2 Eggs
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
3 Bananas
200g (1 cup) Chocolate Chips

1) Preheat the oven to 180°C
2) Grease and line a loaf tin
3) First, cream together the sugar and margarine (can be done with an electric beater). If you don’t have margarine you can use softened unsalted butter, but I’ve found it makes the mixture heavier.
4) Beat the eggs and add them to the mixture, then fold in the flour, baking powder and salt. (Plain flour can be used but you will need to add an extra tsp of baking powder to help it rise as this is quite a heavy mixture.)
5) Mash the bananas then add them to the mixture.
6) Finally, stir in the chocolate chips (I tend to use a mixture of Milk and Dark)
7) Fill the tin by 3/4 and bake for 45 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.

This mixture is also great for cupcakes/muffins – just reduce the baking time to 20 minutes.