Baking #119: Banana & Chocolate Loaf

Jennifer bought me souvenirs of Hershey’s baking chocolates on her previous trip to Malacca earlier last month. She thought that we do not have it in here in Brunei. She excitedly bought them only to find out that Hershey’s baking chocolates are available in the major supermarkets here in Brunei. But it’s the thought that counts, right?

So, I told her that I am going to bake some cakes with the chocolates which she bought for me. LOL! And this Banana & Chocolate Loaf was one of the first which I baked with the chocolate chips she bought for me. This cake is still baking in the oven as I draft this blog entry.

Banana & Chocolate Loaf (adapted from The Domestic Goddess Wannabe)

Ingredients:

• 125g unsalted butter, room temperature *130g*
• 250g fine granulated white sugar *150g fine textured brown sugar*
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 250g all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 4 ripe bananas, mashed *279g local Pisang Berangan*
• 175g good quality dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate, broken into smaller pieces *120g Hershey’s semi-sweet chocolate chips*

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together all-purpose flour and baking powder. Sift and set aside for later use.
2. Toss the chocolate chips with one heap tablespoonful of the sifted flour mixture. This is to prevent the chocolate chips from sinking onto the bottom of the cake while baking.
3. Add in vanilla extract and mix well.
4. Add in eggs, one at a time and beat each one well before adding the next egg.
5. Add in half portion of the sifted flour mixture and mix to just incorporate. Add in mashed bananas and mix well. Add in the last portion of sifted flour mixture and mix well.
6. Gently fold in the chocolate chips to just incorporate.
7. Pour batter into a lined or lightly greased 9×5-inches baking loaf pans and bake in a preheated oven of 180 degree Celsius for 50 to 60 minutes or until an inserted cake tester comes out clean.
8. Allow the cake to cool in the baking pan for 10 to 15 minutes before cooling the cake completely on a wire cooling rack.

So, this was how my Banana & Chocolate Loaf looked on the inside when sliced. The coating of chocolate chips with flour mixture ensure that the chocolate chips stay flowing throughout the cake rather than sinking onto the bottom of the cake.

Texture wise, this cake was a lot compact compared to the rest of Banana Bread which I had attempted previously. Probably due to the fact that I overdid the batter in the first place. Taste wise, it was good with plenty of banana flavor.

Sweetness level, this was just perfect. If you like a sweet cake, perhaps you could stick with the original quantity for the chocolate chips. My parents ain’t big fan of chocolate chips so I would always reduce the quantity when chocolate chips are involved.