Chocolate brown sugar banana cake
Okay so the original recipe sounds way cooler….chocolate muscovado banana cake by Nigel Slater. Alas I only have regular, good ol’ brown sugar. Muscovado will have to take a back seat this time.
I had to look up the difference between brown sugar and muscovado – muscovado sugar is darker, more moist and has a strong molasses flavour. I’m sure this recipe will benefit from the use of muscovado sugar but I was very happy with how moist and tasty the cake turned out without it.
I don’t know about you, but whenever I bake anything, I can’t wait to taste it. So when a recipe calls for the cake to be cooled completely, I usually don’t. But this time, I highly recommend it. When I ate the cake fresh out of the oven, it did not taste as flavourful and I was not impressed. When I had another slice a few hours later, it tasted beautiful. Moist, banana-filled, chocolate laced cake. Om nom nom. Thank you Nigel Slater.
Oh and see this? My current favourite tea from Harney & Sons. Love it!! Perfect with a slice of chocolate brown sugar banana cake.
CHOCOLATE BROWN SUGAR BANANA CAKE
Adapted from Nigel Slater’s recipe – Kitchen Diaries II
Ingredients
250g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
125g butter, softened
235g dark brown sugar
400g ripe banana (peeled weight) – I used 4 bananas
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
100g dark chocolate, chopped finely
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 C. And, line a non-stick loaf tin with baking paper.
2. Sift flour and baking powder together.
3. Using electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together till light and fluffy.
4. Put bananas in a bowl and mash with fork until lumpy. Do not puree it, you want chunks of banana in the cake. Stir in vanilla extract.
5. Beat eggs lightly with a fork, then beat into butter and sugar mixture, add some flour if it looks like it is starting to curdle.
6. Fold chocolate along with the bananas into the butter and sugar mixture then gently fold the flour and baking powder in.
7. Scrape it into the lined baking tin and cook for about 50 minutes.
8. Check to see if it’s ready by inserting a skewer into the center. if it comes out moist but clean then it is done. if it still looks wet, then return to oven for a few more minutes and cover the surface with foil.
9. Once removed from oven let the cake sit in the tin for about 15 minutes. then loosen side with a knife and carefully lift out. Leave to cool a little longer before peeling off paper, slicing to serve.
Gorgeous! I regularly put brown sugar in my banana bread – it works so well!
November 11, 2012 at 9:56 PM
I can’t wait to taste everything i have baked either! :)
I am a fan of banana cake since young so i will definitely try out this recipe. Will keep u posted how it turn out.
November 15, 2012 at 6:16 AM
Btw, may i ask the size of your loaf tin? Thanks..
November 15, 2012 at 6:17 AM
Hey Shirley my loaf tin is approx 9x5x3 inches. Happy baking!
November 15, 2012 at 11:23 AM
Hey Vi,
Made this for Christmas and was delish indeed :)
Albeit a little heavy is it because I’m not mixing it enough or is it like that?
January 6, 2013 at 12:26 PM
Good job Rach! You’re becoming more like a domestic goddess :) this cake is not the light and fluffy kind but it shouldn’t be heavy or dense. Sometimes overmixing can cause that, you should try not to beat all the air out of the light and fluffy butter.
January 8, 2013 at 9:11 AM