Chocolate Banana Cake

Happy New Year everyone! What better way to celebrate a new year by baking something delicious? Enter: Chocolate Banana Cake. The recipe, from the BBC, comes with a streusel topping consisting of butter, flour, demerara sugar and pecans, though you could use walnuts instead. It is completely optional as the cake on it's own is moist and flavoursome, but if you want the extra crunch, make the topping as when I made this cake without it, I felt there was an element missing. But it's up to you. Here's the recipe that will not only use up your bad bananas, but will make you want all your future bananas to blacken sooner as an excuse to make this cake.

Chocolate Banana Cake

(A BBC recipe)

    100g plain chocolate

    150g unsalted butter , softened

    175g golden caster sugar

    3 eggs , beaten

    175g self-raising flour

    1 level tsp baking powder

    25g cocoa

    2 large bananas , peeled and mashed

FOR THE STREUSEL TOPPING

    25g unsalted butter

    2 generous tbsp plain flour

    1 level tbsp demerara sugar

    pecans , chopped to make 2 tbsp

    Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line the bases of 2 x 450g loaf tins with baking parchment. To make the streusel topping, rub the butter into the flour, then mix in the demerara sugar and chopped pecans. Melt the chocolate either in the microwave or in a small glass bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir until smooth and remove from the heat.

    Cream together the softened butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the egg, beating well between each addition. Sift together the flour, baking powder and cocoa and fold in using a large metal spoon. Add the mashed banana and chocolate and mix well.

    Divide the mixture between the 2 tins and top each with the streusel. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a rack, then wrap in baking parchment or foil.